When I started thinking about a review for
Planet of the Apes, the first thing I realized is that it would
be a mistake to compare this effort to the 1968 film. Doing
so would be like comparing any of the dozens of film adaptations
of Hamlet.
Before anyone starts wondering if I'm really
trying to put Planet of the Apes in the same category as Shakespeare,
don't worry. What I mean is that Tim Burton's Planet of the
Apes is not a remake of the earlier film. Rather, both films
share the same source material, Pierre Boulle's novel.
Naturally, some elements will be similar between
the two films, but there is enough that is different to justify
examining this film without comparison to the earlier version.
The film opens up on a space station. Harking
back to the early days of the space program, mankind is once
again sending chimps out into space. The station is home to
dozens of primates and they are all being trained to pilot small
spacecraft. Presumably, the intent is to use them to explore
strange new worlds rather than risk human lives. So much for
Star Trek.
Very little time is wasted in setting up a
crisis. The station encounters an electromagnetic storm that,
in fact, turns out to be some sort of wormhole. One of the chimps
is sent off to investigate and promptly vanishes. Disobeying
orders, Astronaut Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg) hops in a pod
and flies off on a rescue mission. He quickly loses control
within the wormhole and find himself on a crash course toward
a strange planet.
Despite coming in like a meteor, through trees
and finally crashing into a swampy pond, Leo manages to survive
his "landing" only to find himself surrounded by panicked,
savage-looking humans who are being chased by an army of apes.
These aren't apes as Leo knows them, however. They seem to be
intelligent in the way that humans are intelligent. They wear
clothes, use tools and speak English.
Leo is captured as a slave and sold to a female
chimp named Ari (Helena Bonham Carter). Wasting little time
in his new environment, he makes an enemy out of General Thade
(Tim Roth) and plotting his escape from the city.
The problem I have with the film is that a
great effort is made to set up the ape society and then we hardly
get to see it. Leo escapes the city within hours of his capture,
so that the bulk of the film is little more than a pursuit through
jungle and desert.
The movie manages slightly better than a two-hour
running time and yet it doesn't seem like much of anything really
happens. We're given some great characters in Ari, Thade, Attar
(Michael Clark Duncan), Krull (Cary Tagawa), and Limbo (Paul
Giamatti) and yet it seems like the only activity their allowed
in the film is preparing for combat. I would have gladly sat
through another half hour if it would have allowed for more
time spent in the ape city. As it stands now, the film has some
great action, but is severely lacking in substance.
Mark Wahlberg, who has put in some great performances
in the past, seems to be phoning this one in. His character
comes across as a wooden automaton who's only function is to
escape ape planet. He barely even reacts when confronted with
talking apes. This is acceptable, however, because let's be
honest here -- we're really in this for the apes, not Mark Wahlberg.
The makeup work on the apes is nothing short
of astonishing. Rick Baker has managed to completely hide the
actors underneath the makeup, yet also allow them a full range
of emotions. If you've been reading my other reviews, then you
know what I special effects junkie I am, so you know that this
aspect of the film is going to be appealing to me. This is why
I'm a little disappointed that the film doesn't spend more time
getting to know the apes.
Tim Burton helmed the film and he's been one
of my favorite directors for a long time now. He brings a twisted
vision to his films that is a unique breath of fresh air in
Hollywood. Unfortunately, Burton seems to be holding himself
back here. Missing is the Burton flair. This isn't to say that
the directing is poor. In fact, it's rather tight and effective
for the material, it's just that it lacks that "something"
that usually separates a Burton film from everything else.
Is Planet of the Apes a bad film? No. It is
certainly entertaining. However, it is also a missed opportunity.
It's just good enough to show us its potential, which is always
a shame. I would rather see a film that goes for broke and fails,
than one that plays it safe because that first film is going
to be interesting even when it doesn't succeed.
While the film turns out to be a slight disappointment,
Fox's DVD presentation is anything but. This is the latest in
the recent trend of full-blown two-disc special editions in
recent weeks and it's one of the better ones.
