Planet of the Apes, scored by Danny Elfman.
© 2001 Paramount

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Planet of the Apes (2001)

When it comes to remakes, it's almost better if the film in question is really obscure or not very good to begin with. No one is going to pick apart a big budget remake of AMERICAN NINJA, however critics everywhere will be sharpening their axes for the "re-imagining" of PLANET OF THE APES.

The classic 1968 APES was a beautifully constructed film starring Charlton Heston as an astronaut who crash-lands on a planet ruled by simians ... only to discover that the planet in question is Earth.

The well-crafted screenplay was written by Rod Serling (based on the Pierre Boulle novel) and, most likely a result of his TWILIGHT ZONE background, allowed for an unexpected twist ending that continues to get parodied to this day. Next to "Soylent Green is people," you can't help but recite lines and recall moments from the original APES without getting all misty-eyed.

There are many ways a modern day retelling of APES could have been tackled and attaching a high profile director was the first step in distancing the project from the original. Both James Cameron and Oliver Stone were originally considered as helmers the result in their hands would have definitely been exciting. Then Tim Burton got the gig and you knew this wasn't going to be your father's PLANET OF THE APES. Always veering toward the esoteric, artsy side of the genre, Burton still manages to attract mainstream audiences to his left of center vision.

Mark Wahlberg plays Leo, an astronaut who crash-lands on the PLANET OF THE APES

© 2001 20th Century Fox

PLANET THE APES is no different, but it definitely is the director's most linear and grounded effort to date, eschewing his more absurd touches by focusing on telling the story of how one man liberates the human species from evil apes.

Mark Wahlberg plays Leo, a thick-headed astronaut whose ship veers off course in space and ends up crashlanding on a planet ruled by apes. Mankind is the lesser of the species and Leo does his best to show them who is boss. In trying to find his way home, he brings hope to a handful of humans and shows those damn, dirty apes what humanity is all about.

Scripted by William Broyles Jr., Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal, the film is a little too simple for its own good. While it definitely hits some important notes about how humans are now the oppressed, the political commentary never really goes beyond that and the occasional "ironic" throwaway line to get the audience to chuckle.

Perhaps the film's most significant flaw is its various shifts in tone. When the movie stays aggressive, bleak and hopeless it truly shines. When it veers off into camp with its references to the original film and a long, comedic montage of apes engaging in everyday human duties, the movie gets a tad too silly for its own good.

Man vs. ape and to the winner goes the PLANET OF THE APES

© 2001 20th Century Fox

It's obvious the film is trying hard to earn its PG-13 rating so the violence is toned down and the story is as uncomplicated as can be. Still, the image that sold me from day one was the teaser poster of apes readying for battle against a blue backdrop. It looked truly apocalyptic. By the time the battle in question is engaged on film it looks all bright and sunny hardly the antiseptic kind of world you would expect from Tim Burton.

Visually, there are some nice Burton-esque flourishes throughout. The costume design is heavily influenced by the director's quirky sensibilities, as are some of the production design elements like the exterior of Ape City. Yet, in some ways, this is more Rick Baker's movie than Burton's. The flawless ape prosthetics are a drastic improvement over the original film's and the way Baker has made them form-fitting to each actor's face brings a kind of magic that is rarely achieved on screen. It's the one instance where actors who are buried in latex make you see the character not the actor underneath.

Working best under with the prosthetics are Tim Roth as the ruthless General Thade and Paul Giamatti as Limbo, a "seller" of humans who learns what it's truly like to walk in their shoes. As Thade, Roth is so treacherous he puts any villain in recent memory to shame. In terms of Giamatti, he works the make-up so damn well, you marvel at how "simian"-like he is. He uses every bit of movement he can get and it provides the character some honest laughs, but also hits home just how talented a character actor Giamatti is.

Helena Bonham Carter plays Ari, the chimp human activist in PLANET OF THE APES

© 2001 20th Century Fox

Also at the forefront of the movie is a very odd love triangle between Whalberg, "human rights activist" ape Ari (Helena Bonham Carter) and pretty human slave Daena (Estella Warren). It's a strange relationship that thankfully isn't taken too far because even at its most bare-bone, it's still a little silly watching Daena storm off when she realizes Ari is getting more attention from Leo.

Since this summer has been littered with one disappointing blockbuster after another, it was expected that PLANET OF THE APES would be the saving grace or the final nail in the coffin. However, it's neither. It's certainly one of the most visually arresting and enthralling films of the summer. Yet it's also saddled with a very disappointing climax that's as hokey as they come. There's a consistent thread of Burton as a visual stylist that holds the film together better than most summer movies. Yet, with a botched ending and a twist that really isn't a twist, APES also gets lost along the way. It's a victim of its own design.

Then again, remaking PLANET OF THE APES was always going to elicit a strong reaction from devotees of the original. Maybe an AMERICAN NINJA remake isn't such a bad idea after all.