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8/28/2001

Planet of the Apes stars Mark Wahlberg as Capt. Leo Davidson, Tim Roth as General Thade, Helena Bonham Carter as Ari, Michael Clarke Duncan as Colonel Attar, Paul Giamatti as Limbo, Estella Warren as Daena, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Krull, David Warner as Senator Sandar, Erick Avari as Tival, Luke Eberl as Birn, Evan Dexter Parke as Gunnar, Glenn Shadix as Senator Nado, Kris Kristofferson as Karubi, Freda Foh Shen as Bon and, Chris Ellis as Lt. General Karl Vasich.

Planet of the Apes is the latest remake of the 1968 classic. The visual impact of this film is better, of course it is expected after 33 years. The story is similar, except it is not an apocalyptic version. It is a time travel to another world story with a twist at the end. The apes are less organized and Tim Burton, the director, doesn't bother explaining the society, assuming you already know the story. Which is that our hero, Capt. Leo Davidson, goes through a time warp in space and lands on a planet where apes are the rulers and humans are the inferior wild animals. However, in this version the humans can talk.

Planet of the Apes is full of cheap cliches, "Can't we all get along", which in my showing did not get the laughs intended. It reminds of the Speilberg trait of getting children to say cute things. There is nothing new here, except for the updated film making techniques, and the ending. Acting, is not required for any of the roles, so there was none.