Review: 'Apes' Crashes To Earth
'Re-Imagining' Of Concept Uninspired
'Planet of the Apes' (PG-13)
Some "Apes" are better left caged.
Of course, this is clearly not the case of the "re-imagining," as director Tim Burton deemed it (it is not considered a remake), for his new version of "Planet of the Apes," a movie based on the Pierre Boulle novel that inspired a series of five films from 1968-73. Through the years the films starred many actors, but most notably Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter.
The sad thing is, as cheesy as the original film series ended up with the finale, "Battle for the Planet of the Apes," it still doesn't come close to disappointment of this new version. In the end, the new "Planet" comes close to colliding at light speed with the John Travolta disaster, "Battlefield Earth."
Although the plotline is decidedly different from the 1968 "Apes," Mark Wahlberg assumes the role of an astronaut much similar to one Heston originated. He stars as Leo Davidson, a dedicated space soldier who braves an electromagnetic storm to save a chimpanzee astronaut who loses control of his spacecraft.
But by entering the storm, Davidson is spun into a time warp, eventually crash-landing on a planet ruled by an evolved form of apes. Like the original film, the few humans on the planet live a primitive existence and are hunted down for slavery purposes.
Having the power of future technology behind him, Davidson soon enough discovers that he must unite his fellow humans to fight the apes and their tyrannical leader, Gen. Thade (Tim Roth) in order to take back the planet. He finds compassion in the quest through a female ape inhabitant, Ari (Helena Bonham Carter), who believes that apes and humans can live in harmony.
There's no question Burton changed the tone of the original films with this modern version of the story. The apes are much more menacing, quicker and their mannerisms are appropriately more "ape" like. This is obvious from the first chase scene after Davidson crash-lands on the planet, which is probably the most exciting sequence of the film. From there, "Planet" runs into familiar action film territory and, effectively, into the ground.
Granted, it's hard to make any sort of a film with an action formula with any spark of originality these days, but it's especially disheartening when you realize true visionary like Burton -- who blessed us with the amazing "Edward Scissorhands," "Sleepy Hollow" and first big screen version of "Batman" -- had very little influence. This genre needed a serious kick in the pants, but it simply doesn't get it. And for reasons maybe beyond his control, "Planet" lacks his magic.
Burton, who has an incredible knack to inspire atmosphere through the production design of his films, shows a glimmer of promise in "Planet." But where there is promise, it doesn't have the other essential elements of his work to support it. Anybody familiar enough with Burton's work knows that it's a combination of acting, music and its production design (among many other subtle elements) that make his films works of art. Aside from a couple sly references to the 1968 version and a cameo by Heston as yes -- an ape -- even his twisted humor is almost non-existent.
His work is usually quirky (and welcome at that), and there are no remnants of unconventionalism here. Part of that may have to do with the much-publicized studio's last-minute decision to have Burton's frequent composer, Danny Elfman, to re-score the film to give it more of a "heroic" feel.
Only Burton and Elfman know for sure if the original score truly worked or not, but there's no doubt when they were allowed to go their own way before, the collaborative efforts inspired a mystical feel with their work. Instead, a more conventional sound does little to separate from its action-film counterparts. It fact, the music is barely noticeable, much less memorable.
But it's a boring script and annoying acting (apart from a memorably subdued turn by Bonham Carter and the comic relief by Paul Giamatti as a baboon slave trader) that ultimately spins "Planet" wildly out of control. Wahlberg and Roth, who have both displayed their talents in the past, land on different ends of the spectrum in "Planet."
As Davidson, Wahlberg is wooden and practically void of any emotions. Roth, on the other hand, is so over-the-top in his sneering bad- guy role that it comes dangerously close to Travolta's dreadfully dredlocked "Battlefield Earth" role last year. It's one-dimensional and completely unoriginal.
Adding insult to injury are the human "primitives" on the planet. Again, like "Battlefield Earth," it's amazing how people barely struggling for survival can look like they've just come out of a beauty salon. The teeth are shiny and straight (not decaying and rotted as one would expect), and their hair is often fluffed to pretty perfection. This is best demonstrated with the human role of Daena (Estella Warren), a Kate Winslet look-alike who serves as Wahlberg's requisite love interest.
Fans of the original film shouldn't be surprised to learn that the new version of "Planet" has a big plot twist. It's too bad that twist has very little impact. The "twist," at least by this definition, was not created to entertain the audience of "Planet," but instead, to shamefully leave the door wide open for another film franchise.
But after this turnout, if any executive dares to green-light a second "Planet," they better not "monkey" around. And that's no joke.
Some "Apes" are better left caged.
Of course, this is clearly not the case of the "re-imagining," as director Tim Burton deemed it (it is not considered a remake), for his new version of "Planet of the Apes," a movie based on the Pierre Boulle novel that inspired a series of five films from 1968-73. Through the years the films starred many actors, but most notably Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter.
The sad thing is, as cheesy as the original film series ended up with the finale, "Battle for the Planet of the Apes," it still doesn't come close to disappointment of this new version. In the end, the new "Planet" comes close to colliding at light speed with the John Travolta disaster, "Battlefield Earth."
Although the plotline is decidedly different from the 1968 "Apes," Mark Wahlberg assumes the role of an astronaut much similar to one Heston originated. He stars as Leo Davidson, a dedicated space soldier who braves an electromagnetic storm to save a chimpanzee astronaut who loses control of his spacecraft.
But by entering the storm, Davidson is spun into a time warp, eventually crash-landing on a planet ruled by an evolved form of apes. Like the original film, the few humans on the planet live a primitive existence and are hunted down for slavery purposes.
Having the power of future technology behind him, Davidson soon enough discovers that he must unite his fellow humans to fight the apes and their tyrannical leader, Gen. Thade (Tim Roth) in order to take back the planet. He finds compassion in the quest through a female ape inhabitant, Ari (Helena Bonham Carter), who believes that apes and humans can live in harmony.
There's no question Burton changed the tone of the original films with this modern version of the story. The apes are much more menacing, quicker and their mannerisms are appropriately more "ape" like. This is obvious from the first chase scene after Davidson crash-lands on the planet, which is probably the most exciting sequence of the film. From there, "Planet" runs into familiar action film territory and, effectively, into the ground.
Granted, it's hard to make any sort of a film with an action formula with any spark of originality these days, but it's especially disheartening when you realize true visionary like Burton -- who blessed us with the amazing "Edward Scissorhands," "Sleepy Hollow" and first big screen version of "Batman" -- had very little influence. This genre needed a serious kick in the pants, but it simply doesn't get it. And for reasons maybe beyond his control, "Planet" lacks his magic.
Burton, who has an incredible knack to inspire atmosphere through the production design of his films, shows a glimmer of promise in "Planet." But where there is promise, it doesn't have the other essential elements of his work to support it. Anybody familiar enough with Burton's work knows that it's a combination of acting, music and its production design (among many other subtle elements) that make his films works of art. Aside from a couple sly references to the 1968 version and a cameo by Heston as yes -- an ape -- even his twisted humor is almost non-existent.
His work is usually quirky (and welcome at that), and there are no remnants of unconventionalism here. Part of that may have to do with the much-publicized studio's last-minute decision to have Burton's frequent composer, Danny Elfman, to re-score the film to give it more of a "heroic" feel.
Only Burton and Elfman know for sure if the original score truly worked or not, but there's no doubt when they were allowed to go their own way before, the collaborative efforts inspired a mystical feel with their work. Instead, a more conventional sound does little to separate from its action-film counterparts. It fact, the music is barely noticeable, much less memorable.
But it's a boring script and annoying acting (apart from a memorably subdued turn by Bonham Carter and the comic relief by Paul Giamatti as a baboon slave trader) that ultimately spins "Planet" wildly out of control. Wahlberg and Roth, who have both displayed their talents in the past, land on different ends of the spectrum in "Planet."
As Davidson, Wahlberg is wooden and practically void of any emotions. Roth, on the other hand, is so over-the-top in his sneering bad- guy role that it comes dangerously close to Travolta's dreadfully dredlocked "Battlefield Earth" role last year. It's one-dimensional and completely unoriginal.
Adding insult to injury are the human "primitives" on the planet. Again, like "Battlefield Earth," it's amazing how people barely struggling for survival can look like they've just come out of a beauty salon. The teeth are shiny and straight (not decaying and rotted as one would expect), and their hair is often fluffed to pretty perfection. This is best demonstrated with the human role of Daena (Estella Warren), a Kate Winslet look-alike who serves as Wahlberg's requisite love interest.
Fans of the original film shouldn't be surprised to learn that the new version of "Planet" has a big plot twist. It's too bad that twist has very little impact. The "twist," at least by this definition, was not created to entertain the audience of "Planet," but instead, to shamefully leave the door wide open for another film franchise.
But after this turnout, if any executive dares to green-light a second "Planet," they better not "monkey" around. And that's no joke.
