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Planet of the Apes- Directed by Tim Burton

PotA was, in a nutshell, a really enjoyable movie- as long as you didn't take it too seriously. A few minor quibbles about the plot and script could be made- but i get the feeling that the movie wasn't taking itself seriously in the first place so this could be nullified.

If you don't know already, the movie is drawing from a number of PotA movies and (of course) the book. First there was the Planet of the Apes movie- made in 1968, then Battle for the Planet of the Apes- in 1973, and also the book- written by Phillipe Boule in 1963. 20th Century fox has dubbed this movie a 're-imagining', and indeed it is similar to the originals, based entirely on the outrageous plot-twists that it includes. Here is a brief guide to the plot: Capt Leo Davidson (Mark Whalberg) finds himself crashed on an alien planet after entering an electrical storm in deep space. He is quickly captured by a group of apes and some other fleeing humans and dragged back to Ape City. The main villain is introduced, General Thade (Kris Kristoffeson), who is manipulating the Ape senete to attack and kill all the humans, leaving apes to rule the planet totally. Davidson and some rag-tag humans escape the city and head out to try and find his crew who have been sent to save him. After that spoilage will occur, but needless to say various 'surprises' ensue.

As far as the effects go, it was not too bad. Very Tim-Burtonish though. A lot of research has gone into how the apes would work and act and what sort of social structure/culture they might use. However, being a pest, I'd like to point out that- since the apes have opposable thumbs on their feet (amongst other things) they would not be able to walk a great distance. Naturally the movie probably couldn't accomadate a more scientific angle (or want to for that matter) but its just a thought that popped into my mind. The space craft effects were pretty stock standard, so not much comment. Ape city and the various parts of the world looked very nice. Most of the filming was done in California and Arizona- hence LOTS of desert n stuff.

Unfortuneatly I can't use the tried and true comment of- "The script was like they had a bunch of chimps chained to a typewriter"- which is a pity, in a way, cause it would make a great pun. Luckilly though, the script was moderate to high in goodness. Wahlburg had few good lines though, in fact he pretty much played the Mark Wahlburg stereotype. The bits where he got to shoot up some apes were cool though- makes you proud to be a human! The apes had better fare though, with some classy characters like Limbo (Paul Giamatti) the human slave master and Senator Nado(Glenn Shadix). Limbo pretty much was the comic relief, but came through well and Senetor Nado did much the same job when he was around.

The movie itself seemed to be making commentaries about a number of issues. Namely animal-rights. I got the distinct feeling that it was saying 'what if we were the slaves and the animals ruled' and with that in mind we should be more respectful to animals. Since I haven't seen the original so i don't know whether this is a common theme or not. Some might say that PotA promotes beastiality since the main character snogs an apewoman. Of course all kinds of other things can be read in- the pointlessness of war and so on. The plot is a different matter altogether. So as not to spoil the movie the rest of the review has been censored for those who wish to see the twists for themselves. Otherwise, plough on ahead…

============================SPOILER===================================

The fisrt twist comes when Davidson reaches the holy site of the apes- a crashed space craft. Ten points to anyone who can guess what the space craft is- you guessed it, its the Oberon. It seems that the space station was caught in the electrical storm and was thrown to a random earth-like planet. There the genetically modified research monkeys on board the craft and the humans began to make a home for themselves- until the monkeys went berko and started offing the humans. So the monkeys evolved to become human-ape hybrids and the humans remained the slaves. Over thousands of years a society was built around these two groups- and then Davidson turns up and changes everything.

Thats the gist of the whole story and, in my opinion, quite a clever one. Although you could see it coming it was well thought out and executed with style. The final twist at the end of the movie- the one that was the kick in the proverbial pants- was when Davidson finally got back to earth. It seems that earth isn’t quite as he left it. Theres the same technology, but hold on- no humans. You guessed it, there all apes. It seems that General Thade has taken the place of Abraham Lincoln and created some bizarre alternate earth. The question I have to ask is: how did this happen? It was clear that the Planet of the Apes was a totally different world to that of Earth. Yet how could earth get changed- the apes had no means to travel there. As far as I can see, the writers felt, or were told, that there had to be some huge shocking twist at the end. So they tacked on this half hearted excuse for an end that left you feeling cheated. I guess that it was kind of cool, but it was also depressing ina way. They lead you to believe that Davidson had won the day and that everyone lives happilly every, then hit you with this massive anticlimax.

======================================================================

Despite a few little problems Planet of the Apes was a good, updated version of the original. A strong cast, excellent effects and a (reasonably) successful script made this movie a winner.

Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes Playtest Review by GabrielKnight on 09/08/01 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty) Solid script and excellent effects make this movie a winner. Product: Planet of the Apes Author: William Broyles Jr, Lawrence Konner, Mark D. Rosenthral, Charles Wicker Category: Movie Company/Publisher: 20th Century Fox (Tim Burton Directs) Line: n/a Cost: n/a Page count: n/a Year published: 2001 ISBN: n/a SKU: n/a Comp copy?: no Playtest Review by GabrielKnight on 09/08/01 Genre tags: Science Fiction Far Future Space	Planet of the Apes- Directed by Tim Burton PotA was, in a nutshell, a really enjoyable movie- as long as you didn't take it too seriously. A few minor quibbles about the plot and script could be made- but i get the feeling that the movie wasn't taking itself seriously in the first place so this could be nullified. If you don't know already, the movie is drawing from a number of PotA movies and (of course) the book. First there was the Planet of the Apes movie- made in 1968, then Battle for the Planet of the Apes- in 1973, and also the book- written by Phillipe Boule in 1963. 20th Century fox has dubbed this movie a 're-imagining', and indeed it is similar to the originals, based entirely on the outrageous plot-twists that it includes. Here is a brief guide to the plot: Capt Leo Davidson (Mark Whalberg) finds himself crashed on an alien planet after entering an electrical storm in deep space. He is quickly captured by a group of apes and some other fleeing humans and dragged back to Ape City. The main villain is introduced, General Thade (Kris Kristoffeson), who is manipulating the Ape senete to attack and kill all the humans, leaving apes to rule the planet totally. Davidson and some rag-tag humans escape the city and head out to try and find his crew who have been sent to save him. After that spoilage will occur, but needless to say various 'surprises' ensue. As far as the effects go, it was not too bad. Very Tim-Burtonish though. A lot of research has gone into how the apes would work and act and what sort of social structure/culture they might use. However, being a pest, I'd like to point out that- since the apes have opposable thumbs on their feet (amongst other things) they would not be able to walk a great distance. Naturally the movie probably couldn't accomadate a more scientific angle (or want to for that matter) but its just a thought that popped into my mind. The space craft effects were pretty stock standard, so not much comment. Ape city and the various parts of the world looked very nice. Most of the filming was done in California and Arizona- hence LOTS of desert n stuff. Unfortuneatly I can't use the tried and true comment of- "The script was like they had a bunch of chimps chained to a typewriter"- which is a pity, in a way, cause it would make a great pun. Luckilly though, the script was moderate to high in goodness. Wahlburg had few good lines though, in fact he pretty much played the Mark Wahlburg stereotype. The bits where he got to shoot up some apes were cool though- makes you proud to be a human! The apes had better fare though, with some classy characters like Limbo (Paul Giamatti) the human slave master and Senator Nado(Glenn Shadix). Limbo pretty much was the comic relief, but came through well and Senetor Nado did much the same job when he was around. The movie itself seemed to be making commentaries about a number of issues. Namely animal-rights. I got the distinct feeling that it was saying 'what if we were the slaves and the animals ruled' and with that in mind we should be more respectful to animals. Since I haven't seen the original so i don't know whether this is a common theme or not. Some might say that PotA promotes beastiality since the main character snogs an apewoman. Of course all kinds of other things can be read in- the pointlessness of war and so on. The plot is a different matter altogether. So as not to spoil the movie the rest of the review has been censored for those who wish to see the twists for themselves. Otherwise, plough on ahead… ============================SPOILER=================================== The fisrt twist comes when Davidson reaches the holy site of the apes- a crashed space craft. Ten points to anyone who can guess what the space craft is- you guessed it, its the Oberon. It seems that the space station was caught in the electrical storm and was thrown to a random earth-like planet. There the genetically modified research monkeys on board the craft and the humans began to make a home for themselves- until the monkeys went berko and started offing the humans. So the monkeys evolved to become human-ape hybrids and the humans remained the slaves. Over thousands of years a society was built around these two groups- and then Davidson turns up and changes everything. Thats the gist of the whole story and, in my opinion, quite a clever one. Although you could see it coming it was well thought out and executed with style. The final twist at the end of the movie- the one that was the kick in the proverbial pants- was when Davidson finally got back to earth. It seems that earth isn’t quite as he left it. Theres the same technology, but hold on- no humans. You guessed it, there all apes. It seems that General Thade has taken the place of Abraham Lincoln and created some bizarre alternate earth. The question I have to ask is: how did this happen? It was clear that the Planet of the Apes was a totally different world to that of Earth. Yet how could earth get changed- the apes had no means to travel there. As far as I can see, the writers felt, or were told, that there had to be some huge shocking twist at the end. So they tacked on this half hearted excuse for an end that left you feeling cheated. I guess that it was kind of cool, but it was also depressing ina way. They lead you to believe that Davidson had won the day and that everyone lives happilly every, then hit you with this massive anticlimax. ====================================================================== Despite a few little problems Planet of the Apes was a good, updated version of the original. A strong cast, excellent effects and a (reasonably) successful script made this movie a winner.