Planet of the Apes

Rating:
Summary: gotta see it!
Review: I was raised on Planet of the Apes. It was like Poke'mon to me. I was watching the internet for this movie's release even before it was finished being cast. My expecations were dangerously high... When I saw it, I was blown away. I kept catching myself through the movie grinning like (pardon the expression!) a dumb ape. My wife (who is not a big Planet of the Apes fan) was also shocked on how great this movie is. She and I talked through it for about two hours. Gotta see it!

Rating:
Summary: Fun if you don't try to take it serously
Review: I tried to not go into this movie with my expectations too high, and even though I wasn't necessarily surprised, I did manage to enjoy myself. By now, anyone should realize that Tim Burton always stresses style over substance, and his "re-imagining" of Planet of the Apes is no different. I won't belabor the shortcomings of the weak plot (I pretty well consistently knew what was going to happen a half hour or so ahead of time throughout the movie) but his production design really steals the show. If you're looking for an Oscar contender, (aside from makeup, of course) then you'll want to give this one a pass. If you're looking for a couple hours' worth of mindless entertainment and you like the idea of seeing an all-star cast dressed up as monkeys, you should enjoy this movie. Thus, I rate Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes at 4 (qualified) stars.

Rating:
Summary: Good Movie, But Too Short to Be REALLY Good
Review: First of all, this was a good movie, considering the time constraints. There is only so much that can be packed into a one hundred twenty minute movie. If there had been another hour, I am sure there would have been more character development. Leo Davidson would have spent more time in captivity, and got to know the other humans and the apes. Also, the edning is simple-apes took over the Earth, as they did the other planet.

Rating:
Summary: Not good but better than the rest of the summer blockbusters
Review: Compared to the 1968 original, the story of the the original was much better, of course this movie has advantages with all the technological and computer wizardry that has been developed since. The technology makes this new re-imagination seem more real, even though the story feels hollow on certain points. The ending was screaming sequel, I would have seen it, but Tim Burton has said that he won'd be involved with any, making this movie worse than what it is. The love story is terrible, the effects are ok, the story so-so. Tim Burton has always had the ability to create worlds, with his gothic vision, but rarely has he created memorable characters, he sacrifices the script for his vision. William Broyles Jr. who was one of the writers said that he wrote much more character development and the story itself and when he saw the film none of that was present. Still, I enjoyed it more than Pearl Harbor and Jurassic Park III.

Rating:
Summary: Planet of the Apes - A flacid Remake
Review: Stick with the original Planet of the Apes. The only good thing about this movie was the make-up. A flat plot, boring action makes this one of Tim Burton's worst. Not one of the scenes in the movie inspired an emotional response. The acting was at its worst. The ending was too rediculous, laughable and uninspired. Pierre Boulle must be rolling in his grave. I would give this one and a half stars, but since I am unable to I am forced to give it two stars.

Rating:
Summary: An Extraordinary Miss
Review: Tim Burton's <I>Planet of the Apes</I> is an excellent production. The special effects are marvelous, the cinematography is wonderful, and the apes actually seem ape-like. Too bad the plot could not keep up. You may have difficulty identifying with Major Leo Davidson, the rebellious, self-centered astronaut, and would-be pilot who crash-lands on a planet where apes are the dominant species, and humans are the hunted and despised outlaws and slaves. Mark Wahlberg, who played the role, certainly seemed to have trouble identifying with him. But this is probably caused more by a story line with too many leaps, holes, and implausibilities. This film could have been an intelligent, thought-provoking discussion of racism (as the 1968 film attempted to be), animal rights, prejudice, political corruption, abuse of power, gun control, violence, or even religious extremism -- certainly all of those elements are there -- Burton seems too enamored with the technology of filmmaking and unwilling to do any more than dabble in anything like a controversial issue. I went prepared to see stunning visual effects at the sacrifice of story (this, by the way, is the unnecessary norm). However, plot hole followed continuity flaw followed bad method acting followed formulaic plot device until I was thoroughly disgusted but what could have been a visually pleasing treat. Still I wanted my wife's opinion. I watched all of the Planet of the Apes movies when I was young, my wife had never seen any of them. Surprisingly, hers was even stronger than my own. The story was worthless and the effects could not quite make up for the lack of coherent plot. I should note that Tim Roth's portrayal of Thade, the ruthless ape general determined to stop humans at all cost, was convincing and fun. He truly seemed ape-like, in a way that Roddy McDowell and his costars never did. A large part of this was due to the special effects, but Roth certainly deserves credit, as Helena Bonham Carter certainly proved effects are not enough. Kim Hunter was no less convincing in 1968 with a one-piece rubber mask. Charlton Heston has a cameo, this time as the ancient ape who warns his son that the danger of humans comes from their use of guns. This is cute and campy, as are many other tributes to the original series. Unfortunately, the magic boom stick which is a threat to all ape-kind, though perfectly effective at blasting trees to bits, is apparently incapable of piercing skin, so there is no reason to fear. It simply added one more wasted plot device to distract from the lack of effective plot. So, if you can turn off the higher, analytical, and critical portion of your mind, you might enjoy this feast of special effects. Just don't be surprised if you are hungry again in forty-five minutes.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This movie is extremely exciting and has a lot of action scenes a lot of guys will like. Its edge of your seat action. You dont want to miss this one.

Rating:
Summary: Contrived, annoying, unintelligent.
Review: This movie is being compared quite a bit to the novel by Pierre Boulle. I beg to differ to put it nicely. This movie was no more true to the original novel than was the first movie (the first movie in my opinion, was much more true to the novel in its theme). Before I continue, I will say that if competent writing and storytelling don't matter to you, you might enjoy the movie quite a bit. It actually had the best special effects money can buy, a lot of action sequences, and good acting by the people who played the apes (in spite of the agonzingly stupid 50 foot jumps). .... Aside from all of this, it was a contrived story with persistent melodrama that completely undermined any plausibility that the movie was supposed to have had. .... One more thing, there wasn't a whole lot that was scientific about this 'science fiction' movie. The novel on the other hand was entirely scientific in its premise. ....

Rating:
Summary: Horrible, horrible, horrible
Review: Stay at home, save your money, watch paint dry, anything's better. I just about went ape in theatre. Pure Hollywood sequel-driven, revenue-generating, over-hyped, pre-packaged garbage. A total insult to the original. 0/5

Rating:
Summary: Great Start - Disappointing Endining
Review: I'm a person that too often looks at the logic of the situation and if it doesn't fly then I am easily disappointed. This movie disappointed with the ending... it simply did not make any sense.