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Planet of the Apes review
:. Director: Tim Burton
:. Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Estella Warren
:. Running Time: 2:00
:. Year: 2001
:. Country: USA
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Who would have believed that an advanced primate civilization primate had developed on the flanks of Mont St-Michel Mount, off the Breton coast in France? Probably not Tim Burton or Mark Wahlberg, judging by their flagrant absence in this new version of Planet of the Apes.
Mark Wahlberg plays U.S. Air Force captain Leo Davidson who's attached to a space station where research on monkeys is conducted. Leaving to save his favorite chimpanzee he ends up on a planet where-irony of ironies- he becomes the prey of superhuman primates! He will defy the vile General Thade (Tim Roth) and find an ally in Ari (Helena Bonham Carter), the Brigitte Bardot of the apes. He will also break the heart of fashion model-quasi-mute Daena (Estella Warren).
The only surprise of this linear scenario is precisely the absence of surprises. Leo and his partners jump over every hurdle they meet with a disconcerting facility reminiscent of the breezy days of Scooby Doo. This story's only purpose is in fact to deliver a serie of easy jokes mocking human behavior through this advanced primate civilization. The scenario is so awful that I suspect baboons have already taken control of the Hollywood screenwriter's guild.
Given that some will retort that you don't see Planet of the Apes for the plot but for the action and special effects, I warn you: you will not get any for your money. The majority of film has that unreal studio lighting while the scenery, far from impressive, seems to be borrowed from an Italian sci-fi production from the seventies like Apocalypse 2029: Mercenaries of the Future. To return to our Breton friends, the monkeys thus live on a mountain surrounded by sand on whose summit perches a form resembling a church or a fortress.
The direction, flat and sluggish, makes the whole thing all the more tedious. Even the final battle scene, sensibly arranged to be the big climax of film is unorganized and cruelly lacks action. In fact, Burton's vision is totally absent from the film. Rather, The Planet of the Apes seems to be carried out by a puppet radio-controlled by the studios. Someone was afraid that Burton would make this super-production a personal and "out there" work and had to take control of the entire project (At least, that's the hope!). The rumors about re-editing a few days before the film's release confirm this feeling. So to have chosen Burton to direct proves useless. The Bay - Bruckheimer - Affleck trio would have sold its soul with more ardour. Tim Burton seems to not give a damn.
The impatience of the Wahlberg's character to flee this planet seems to echo a desire to finish this film as quickly as possible. Tim Roth seems to have been advised to overdo it in order to persuade anyone under the age of five that he really is mean. If certain actors appear to have a natural gift for their simian roles, Helena Bonham Carter has more of an air of an exasperated human than that of a female monkey. As for Daena, one wonders why Leo kisses her before leaving since she probably does not address him more than twice in the film.
Flee Planet of the Apes before it's too late.
Fred Thom
 Movie Reviews: American Films
Reviews 2012 - present
Reviews 1998 - 2012
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