Rating: 
Summary: It's Not The Original, But Who Cares?
Review: There are a lot of reviews that criticize this film on the sole point that it doesn't have the political satire that the original did. I have several rebuttals to this philosophy. First, This "re-imagination" obviously never intended for such a strong satirical edge, and so we should not reprimand it for what it was deliberately deprived of. Second, I think that those who fail to find any political criticism do so because they are looking for the WRONG message from the WRONG era. In my opinion, the only real sin that the filmmakers fell pray to in the "re-imagining" is by making the Human slaves talk.Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes is not intended to be thought provoking; it is intended to be fun. Perhaps, we as a culture have degraded in intellect and no longer desire such intelligence, but it remains a truth that people sometimes go to the movies just to be thrilled and entertained. If Planet of the Apes fails to make you think, it still doesn't deny one the thrills and entertainment expected of a summer sci-fi extravaganza. Yes, admittedly, this film has problems; but what big-budget nonsense summer film doesn't? The acting is oftentimes atrocious; some of the dialogue is beyond laughable; the film does, perhaps, rush into the conflict a little too fast; and yes, the ending is somewhat silly, but I must proclaim that if the filmmakers hadn't at least TRIED to do something to one-up the original, I would have been more disappointed than I am with the stupidity we have instead. But still, beyond all of its faults, Planet of the Apes remains--not entirely senseless--fun. There are a lot of good ideas in it, a lot of good visuals, CERTAINLY good make-up, and--to the films greatest benefit--not an overabundance of action to sap the audience their strength like every other high-adrenaline summer film. Let us all agree that it isn't as good as the original, but then let the two films rest separately and judge each for its own merits.
Rating: 
Summary: Criticisms of this film are Unfounded
Review: Alright, Tim Burton's film is not accurate to the Heston film, and it did not try to be. Burton's film was very orignal, quite different from both the 1968 film and the original Novel. However, the effects were great, and the story is NOT simple by any means! There was nothing "HORRIBLE" (as another reviewer wrote) about anything in the film that I can see. In fact, the film is action-packed, with great effects, action, good acting from quality actors; and has a unique and innovative take on the Story. A film involving Fighting Apes was never meant to have the depth or drama of a "Citizen Cane" or "Good Will Hunting"-- Fighting Ape movies are made to be fun, visually exciting- something that takes an audience back to the time when movies were supposed to be fun -when films were exciting adventures with dazzling heroes and ruthless villains. Planet of the Apes is all of those things. If you love sci-fi, have an open mind, and are willing to be entertained, This movie will not dissapoint!
Rating: 
Summary: Boring.
Review: I tried very hard to set aside the original movie and watch this as its own individual film. I was doing well until the damn thing reminding me that there was one! Several quotes were reused. or at least paraphrased. Some of the original locations were used as well. Many would call this a "homage" to the original. Whatever.
I have read the book that all the films were based from and this film departs from it almost from the start.
Few surprises, muffled actors, and laughable (not to mention confusing) plot twists. All and all, not good. The DVD tries to pack in a few extras, most of them pretty typical. For the really bored viewer, you can see the character makeup and costume tests! Wow! Final suggestion. Buy the original films in the box set and check out "Behind the Planet of the Apes" Very good.
Rating:
Summary: ONE WORD: [Exelent]
Review: This movie is Great! I am 14 and I love this movie. I saw it in theaters when it came out, and ever since, can't wait for it to come out on video. My favorite ape is thade, the mean evil one, he dispises humans and wants them destroyed! The end of the movie was definitly a shock! but you will have to see it to belive it! Let's just say the world prety much goes ape. Including me!
Rating:
Summary: Entertainment as it should be...
Review: I like movies that i can just sit down and enjoy. They have no hidden meanings. Nothing to think about beside's wow that was a good movie. If I wanted to be entertained with reality I would go outside.
I loved the orginal version and knowing that Charleston Heston was an ape in this one killed me. The make-up was wonderful...I had a hard time convincing my 5 yr. old that they were actors. And the actor whom played the Orangatang, was really funny.
Over all, I thought it was as good as it should of been. Nothing will be as good as the first. But it did the planet of the apes name justice. Buy it...it's worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: So Far Below the Original, its Laughable
Review: Need I say more? I thought this film was a waste of time, money and talent. ALl the makeup in the universe could not make it any better - the story was deeply flawed, the performances stale, and yes, even the monkey suits looked fake. Gee - you'd think the filmakers would have borrowed a page from the original and stuck to a formula that worked back then - a plot for one, suspense for another, and actors who transcended the species rather than offended it. Quite honestly, after seeing this flick (on an IMAX screen no less) I'm not sure what the point to remaking ANY classic story really is if there is no compelling plot to move the story forward. A DUD.
Rating:
Summary: Not great, but not that bad either
Review: PoA was a decent movie. Agreed that the potential wasn't fully met, yet it was still entertaining. Everyone carps about the ending, but I found it fairly inventive.
Rating:
Summary: Why is this movie so criticiszed???
Review: I can't understand for the life of me why this movie is so criticisized. Granted this movie is not as good as the original 1968 Planet of the Apes movie starring Charelton Heston. In many ways though it does surpass the original in costume design and make up. I believe the story is very consistent with a good moral. The main difference between this Planet of the Apes and the 1968 version is: Charelton Heston, I think Heston did much better than Whalberg did in this film. Heston played the role of a victim so perfectly with his insulting and mean comments towards Dr. Zaius which were classic, and you could sympothize with the charocter. Whalberg did a decent job, but you could not sense the same amount of anger is Whalberg as in Heston. The ending I thought was good. It is very easy to figure out: He should have never left the ape planet, don't leave the people who care for you as the apes cared for him in the end.
Rating:
Summary: The best DVD I've seen in ages
Review: Allright I saw the DVD, and that's what this review is about. The DVD. Not the movie by itself. Granted, I think the movie deserves a lot more credit than many of you are giving it, but hey, to each his own. Here's why I think the DVD is worthy of 5 stars:
1. the menus. on both disks they are fantastic, animated and 3-dimensional
2. the commentaries. one by Burton and one by Elfman. Great background on the movie and their creative processes
3. Enhanced Viewing mode. this is great for DVD geeks. full navigation bar, picture-in-picture and access to lots of extra info
4. the documentaries. on disk two. ape academy, ape couture, face of the ape. you can really see the painstaking process of making the movie from artistic renderings all the way to filming
5. art gallery. this was probably my favorite part, but others might not think so. there are tons of concept illustrations for the movie. Everything from the dashboard on the space shuttle to a dozen chair renderings for the ape houses. there were some incredible artists working on the film. So there you go. 5 stars. Planet of the Apes is an incedible DVD set. I don't have a DVD-Rom so I unfortunately cannot comment on those features, but there was a section on each disk for DVD-Rom extras.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing sadder than blown potential.
Review: This movie made me very sad. Like most everyone else in the free world, I was pretty excited when I heard Burton was going to be directing. But the more I thought about it, the less certain I got. After all, Burton hasn't really knocked the ball out of the park, to my mind, in a while. And his best work, I believe, is found in his smaller, more intimate stories, like Ed Wood and Edward Scissorhands. His bloated big-budget action movies tend not to fare so well, quality-wise. (Have they made boatloads of money? Of course. But profitability and quality are not the same thing.) Take his Batman movies, for instance ... while certainly better than the attrocities that followed under the hand of Joel Schumacher, Burton's first two films are visually exciting, but structurally flawed. He tends to suffer from too many ideas and not enough focus. The result, formless, meandering plots that allow all the dramatic tension to drizzle out of the movie. So it was with a bit of apprehension that I allowed myself to get excited about Planet of the Apes. I was hoping, after all, just to see a big, fun, summer action movie. Surely he'd be able to do that. I wasn't expecting Hamlet. I wasn't heaping unrealistic expectations onto the film, I just wanted competent, clever and entertaining. But it wasn't any of those things. It was clearly the kind of product that's all sewn up in the pitch meeting. We get the director, the star and the concept. Is there a script? Nah, that'll just fall into place as we go. Sadly, Hollywood continues to make the same mistake over and over. No matter how much money you spend on special effects, you will undercut yourselves by not paying any attention to your script. How do you get entire audiences rolling with unintended laughter during a tense scene? Just have a character sternly bark: "Your monkey launches at 1600!" Sad, really. (...)
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