Mikometer Rating: 6 of 10
I'm on vacation, so I got to see the first showing of the highly anticipated remake/refasioning of the original 1968 PLanet of the Apes at the local multiplex. Before the film, the seats filled quickly, even though it was only 11am on a Friday. I was all set to dislike the movie. After all, seeing the original is one of those memories of moviegoing
I can still lovingly recall as a child, and I recently bought and watched the complete saga on DVD. I admire Tim Burton, who directed the remake, and Mark Wahlberg is usually very good in his roles, but after the disappointment
of Jurassic Park III, I really didn't think I'd care at all for a new take on the Apes.
I was wrong.
I like this movie in spite of itself. And, believe me, I was prepared not to. But Tim Burton not only surprised me with this one, he made a film that is a true homage to the original, yet will delight audiences whether or not they are familiar with it. The plot is similar, yet different enough, to keep even the most jaded (i.e.: me) viewer entertained.
I can find fault with certain things, and Mark Wahlberg's performance, if it can be called that, is paramount on the list of faults. But it seems with these remakes and reruns cluttering up the multiplexes these days, I am only looking for an entertainment that has a little imagination, or a certain savoir faire to pull it from the ranks of the dozens of copycat films each summer. I can understand this method of filmmaking. I've been a movie fan all my life. Movies were originally nothing more than product to fill the studio's theaters. They were always meant to be in the box office and then replaced by the next one. In the thirties and forties, film series that proved immensely popular were the Thin Man, the Busby Berkely musical, and Andy Hardy, not to mention the comedy shorts. When sound came to movies, countless films were remade for that technology. Ditto color, widescreen, dimensional sound, etc. Nothing about this is new, yet with each generation of filmmakers, and there have only been three, if I am correct, the movies which the previous generation grew up on are treated like source material. Yes, as classics, too. I think of Gus Van Sant's remake of Psycho. A more worthless example of the trend I cannot find. As a film school experiment, remaking a film is tedious most of the time. With this trepidation in mind, and because I found Jurassic III such a redundant moneymaker, I didn't know how much art to expect with Apes.
Tim out does himself.
First, I realize this film isn't an auteur exercise. Other directors were attached, then plans abandoned. Tim brought his own sense to Batman, but it wasn't necessarily his sense (think Edward Scissorhands, or Beetlejuice). It was true to the atmosphere of the piece, and while I didn't read Pierre Boulet's novel of Planet of the Apes, I believe this Apes is more honest to the simian landscape and actions portrayed in the book.
Rick Baker's makeups are astounding, and I really love the makeup in the first film. Paul Giamatti, as the slave trader Limbo, and Tim Roth, as General Thade, stand out particularly. I think Tim should be nominated for best supporting actor for his role, it's so good. I think the director, actors and the production design is top notch.
Second, the idea of a remake appalled me.
There are some films I really don't see why the forces that make decisions in Hollywood see fit to green light. The remake of The Wizard of Oz has been forgotten, I can't even remember it's name. Faruzia Balk's first film. Remake Gone with the Wind? Only as a television miniseries. Citizen Kane? I'd kill myself in line for the movie. Planet of the Apes was one of these classics to me. Even after the filmmakers declared it "more of a reimagining than a remake" I cringed. The project seemed doomed.
On the screen, I am amazed at every turn. I mentioned faults. The second is the lack of philosophical discussion so prevalent in the first film. Of course it was a counterculture diatribe disguised as popular entertainment during the civil rights era. The new movie seems to lack a clear focus when it comes to issues of any sort. It merely seeks to entertain, as as such, it does a good job.
This is an action film, with a rather tepid score by Danny Elfman. The main course of the plot is to follow the group of humans as they escape Ape City, and head to a mythical place in the forbidden zone where their history supposedly began. At least members of the group don't drop off one by one, or are chased by dinosaurs.
The apes are believable, even in the climactic battle scene, which to me seems designed by the same computer programmers who did Phantom Menace, the Patriot, and Mummy II. The set design is, as I said, true to it's source, even if the source isn't the book but the imagination of Tim Burton, Rick Heinrichs,Rosemary Brandenburg, and the art directors. The vision works, the film looks good, the acting (with the exception of Wahlberg, who seems to have phoned in his part, and Estella Warren, who must have studied a DVD of Linda Harrison's Nova for hours in order to get the right blandness called out for the role. In fact, the only "human" actor worth mentioning is Kris Kristofferson, and PLOT POINT ALERT: his character gets killed early on.
I only give this movie a 6 of 10 mainly because it is a remake/retread, and the look is only more sophisticated due to the technology. If a certain director can only direct a certain number of films, I wonder if Tim will look back on this as something he needed to do.
On the other hand, it could be the monster franchise to come. And perhaps Tim will direct the sequel. Nobody knows. Anbd that's what makes moviemaking so interesting these days.
Of course moviegoing isn't altogether as interesting. But at least Apes is enjoyable, and Tim Roth and Paul Giamatti have a field day with their roles.
Mikometer Rating: 6 of 10 'Planet of the Apes' PG-13
Mark Wahlberg: Leo Davidson
Tim Roth: General Thade
Helena Bonham Carter: Ari
Michael Clarke Duncan: Attar
Paul Giamatti: Limbo
Estella Warren: DaenaA Zanuck Co. production, released by 20th Century Fox. Director Tim Burton. Producer Richard D. Zanuck. Executive producer Ralph Winter. Screenplay William Broyles Jr. and Lawrence Konner & Mark Rosenthal. Cinematographer Philippe Rousselot. Editor Chris Lebenzon. Costumes Colleen Atwood. Music Danny Elfman. Production design Rick Heinrichs. Supervising art director John Dexter. Art directors Sean Haworth, Philip Toolin. Set decorator Rosemary Brandenburg. Running time: 1 hour, 59 minutes.
Review written and copyrighted 2001 by Michael F. Nyiri
