The Planet of the Apes
2001/Science Fiction/PG-13
Stars: *** Explanation of ratings
Good balance of new material and trueness to the original.
"Is it as good as the original?" To answer that question in a word, "No." What remake is?
"Is it a good film?" "Certainly." It, however, will not become a classic.
The 2001 version of The Planet of the Apes is pretty much the same story as the original 1968 version: an astronaut crashlands on a planet inhabited by intelligent apes and less-intelligent humans. There are deviations from the original. Most notably, humans can talk, although they choose not to in front of their ape masters. I spent quite a few minutes scratching my head as to why Astronaut Leo (Mark Wahlburg) does not bother to say to the apes, "What's going on? I'm not from around here!"
There were a few stupid tie-ins from the original. The first word any ape says in the movie is, "Get your stinking hands off me, you damn dirty humans!" There was also a certain structure that bore more than cooincidental resemblance to a certain big statue in New York.
However, this is not merely a reashing. There is much originality. The plot had life of its own, and will have fans of the original guessing. There a a few good surprises at the end, making it quite different and exciting (although, in my opinion, the last two minutes were really stupid). If you've never seen the original, don't worry; you won't be left behind. I was also glad that this movie was more than just a shoot-em-up. It has real depth, and the characters are rounded and detailed.
The apes actually were apelike, rather than being humans with ape masks. They use their feet to hold pens and they climb and swing about in their forest-looking city. They also make apelike noises and throw chattery tantrums when stressed. This made the apes far more believable.
The original dealt with issues prevalant at the time: evolutionism and racism. Gone is the race conflict between orangutans, chimpanzees and gorillas. This one deals with topics of contemporary interest such as animal rights and slavery (if you've been to a bookstore in the past three years, you'll know that slavery is a hot topic). Jewish folk may not appreciate that the slimy slave trader in the story has a Jewish accent, which is a big drop from the hard-working, persecuted Corlelius ands Zira from the original.
Overall, Planet of the Apes was a fun movie that kept my attention all the way through, although there are a few weak parts in the beginning. While it's not quite as good as the 1968 version, it beats the crap out of the other four sequels that followed the original!
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