Planet of the Apes ***
Directed by: Tim Burton
Written by: Peter Boulle (novel), William Broyles Jr., Lawrence Konner, Mark D. Rosenthal
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan
Rated PG-13 (violence)
At its heart, all good science fiction is more than what it seems. The original Star Trek TV series was about racism (Chekov was a Russian when the Cold War was just beginning, Spock was the product of a ‘bi-racial’ relationship, Uhura was a black woman, etc.), Jurassic Park was a cautionary tale about messing around too much with nature, Blade Runner made us think about what really makes us human. The original Planet of the Apes was an allegory for race relations in America in the late 1960s – not a subtle one, but still effective. Figuring out how to do this for the year 2001 is the key to making a new POTA work.
Burton wisely didn’t set out to remake the original – this version is a re-interpretation of the original novel La Planete des Singes (Monkey Planet). The basic elements are the same – American astronaut Leo Davidson (Wahlberg) crash lands on a planet where apes (gorillas, chimps and orangutans) are in charge, while humans are hunted and used as slaves and pets. Naturally, Leo doesn’t think this is a very good arrangement – nor do all the apes. Ari (Carter) is a human-rights activist. She thinks that humans can learn to be civilized and live alongside apes. This notion is preposterous, and borders on blasphemy. Ape religious texts clearly say that all apes are descended from Cemos, and that humans don’t even have souls. Attar (Duncan), a gorilla commander is a faithful follower of the religion, while Gen. Thade (Roth), a descendent of Cemos, just wants to kill the humans. Of course, Davidson leads a revolt against the apes, with the help of Ari and Krull (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), her butler. Shocking discoveries are made, battles are fought, and people would shoot me if I revealed any more than this.
Now, what was the movie really about? It’s still about race relations and religion, and how the two affect each other. It would be impossible to have the same philosophical impact as the original film. Burton wisely chose to keep what worked, but changed little things here and there to make it more ‘contemporary’, but in a good way. You won’t see any apes saying “Wazzap?” The politics fit a bit better for the year 2001.
Visually, however – this POTA has the original beaten hands-down. Burton is one of the few directors working today who has a distinctive visual style, and the make-up work done by Rick Baker (who won another Oscar ® for his work on How the Grinch stole Christmas) is simply astounding. You can’t tell where the make-up ends and the actor begins. The actors move like apes as well. They tend to waddle when they walk, much like a chimp does, and when they run, it’s on all fours, like gorillas. It’s a neat novelty at first, but, there are scenes where chimp soldiers are running faster than horses – very scary stuff. The apes also seem to have super-human strength. This isn’t just for effect. A chimp could rip your arms of without breaking a sweat. If apes were smarter, they’d be in charge. These apes are scary. Dr. Zaius has nothing on an enraged Thade.
POTA 2001 isn’t without its flaws, however. The references to the original are a bit campy, but Burton seems to like that sort of thing. The attempts at humor really don’t click. All in all, this doesn’t detract from the film.
When you go to see Planet of the Apes, just let yourself become totally immersed in the film. It’s sort of like the original Night of the Living Dead – when you actually think about the situation that’s on the screen, it becomes flat-out scary. And with apes that look this real, it’s even more frightening.
