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Planet of the Apes

Planet of the Apes

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Confused
Review: I agreed with Jessy Jam's review. I was impressed with Tim Roth and Helena Bonham Carter who were fantastic actors. I only was disappointed the ending was making no sense. I was not happy they replaced Abraham Lincoln. I think the story should be more improvement like the original story has been not bad.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "Planet of the Apes" Is Good But Not Great
Review: The new (2001)"Planet of the Apes" takes the original premise--spaceman falls onto planet controlled by apes who dominate humans--but tells its own story. In this version, the astronaut (Mark Wahlberg) is captured and becomes a house slave to an inveterate liberal and animal-rights activist (Helena Bonham-Carter). With this "human-lover's" help, the other slave/humans in town break out of town and head for the mysterious land which they have been forbidden to enter, on the theory that there must be something useful there.

The special effects are marvelous. I consider the apes' town a touch of genius; it's set on a high hill surrounded by flat slate. The effect is a kind of jungle Mount St. Michel. This movie uses facial prostheses rather than rubber masks for the apes' faces, so we can see a little of the human beneath (look for Charleton Heston in a cameo as a guiding patriarch).

As with Heston's appearance, in-jokes to the original "Apes" movies and to racism and animal-rights advocates abound. Humans are considered the highest type of animal but still an animal. At one dinner party an exasperated guests blurts out "Can't we just all get along?" There is a great deal more humor in that vein. Somehow, though, the dialog stops just short of camp.

While I consider this a good movie, it is certainly no classic. It needed a less stereotyped plot and possibly a stronger male lead than Wahlberg, who seems to be at his best in ensemble drama like "The Perfect Storm." But if you liked the original, or enjoy fantasy movies in general, this new "Planet of the Apes" is entertaining.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: LUKE EBERL!
Review: I loved this movie! It was so cool...and it really made me think what if apes ruled the world? great movie i really think everyone should see it. I sure hope theres a planet of the apes 2(hint hint)in the future!!...oh and LUKE EBERL is so hott in this movie but no one seems to notice him that much.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: More fun than a barrel of'
Review: With this version of PLANET OF THE APES, Makeup artist Rick Baker finally got his wish, first attempted in 1976's KING KONG, to design the perfect monkey suit. The extremely realistic costumes make the film worth watching, and the sound effects are so good as to noticeably add to the experience. Better still, the whole thing holds together as a fast-paced action movie. For all these reasons, the movie is enjoyable. But it doesn't go much deeper than that.

Not that it doesn't try. The movie tries to say much about race relations, humans tampering with science a little too much, religion even gun control. But none of this is new. Some of the trite human sayings adjusted for Apes (for perspective) are taken from the 60's through the 90's (paraphrases from everyone from Barry Goldwater to Rodney King). None of it quite works because the allegories just don't live up to the ape makeup. Still, PLANET OF THE APES is fun ' even scary. I enjoyed it, but I just didn't go ape'

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Apes Rule
Review: Planet of the Apes (2001)

This movie was terrific and had non-stop action from beginning to end. The scenery was very beautiful, the photography...breathtaking; the lush forest, the expansive wasteland, the dark brutish city.

Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg) is a flyer for the Air Force on a floating base in space itching to fly out of there into the deep and do his job. But instead they send the genetically altered monkeys, just like canaries into a mine.

Well Leo's furry fellow astronaut is in trouble out in space and Leo goes out there to bring him and the flying pod back in an unauthorized rescue mission. And as you can probably guess, from there things take an unexpected turn.

Crashing into a simian world Leo has to fight the persistent General Thade (Tim Roth) and his army of apes. General Thade has a merciless hatred for humans which is boundless and unexplained. And so the story flows from one battle scene to another.

The story is simple and therefore easy to understand; the battle for survival. The battle for freedom from slavery. The battle for dignity and self determination.

The fantastically twisted ending leaves an opening for a sequel. Usually it disappointments me when a movie leaves too many loose ends for the purpose of creating a sequel; but this is not the case here. This movie and it's story is over and leaves an opening for (I hope) another exciting movie.

"SweetVenom" Bob

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Highly Disappointed
Review: I will start by saying that I was pretty anxious to see this film, after seeing all the hype on TV. I pretty much expected the Apes to look fantastic. That expectation was met. Beyond that, it fell apart. I found myself bored with a slow-moving story that was also very predictable. There were lines that could have been explored better, but they were glossed over. Tim Burton did the best that he could with the screenplay, as did the make-up artists and the sound effects/soundtrack artists. The acting comes up short for the most part. Mark Wahlberg does nothing spectacular in this story, and this holds true for all the human characters.

Ultimately this film is just eye-candy for special effects and makeup fans. A weak storyline coupled with average acting makes this a truly sub-par film. However, this will not stop this movie from being huge.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A masterful retelling of a story....
Review: I had a lot of fun watching this movie, and wish it has lasted longer to explain more of itself. I am sure they made it they way they did to get people talking about it, and I wonder if the answers will come in part 2. I did enjoy the story, plot, acting and F/X.

As for the ending.. I don't know why people are upset about it, I thought it was very clever indeed=)

all in all.. do have fun watch this... after all its only a movie;)

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: They Really Finally Did It.....
Review: Basically, this filmis noteworthy for: Rick Baker's awesome makeup (as usual); Tim Roth's awesome performance (as usual) and.......gee, that's it!This film, while looking expensive, has none of the awe and gripping tension and horror of the original! The original is my all time favorite movie and this film is just...there. Nothing beats Charlton Heston and Dr. Zauis in bitter verbal confrontation--not even Jet Li-like apes flying all over the screen in jumping acrobatics (although that did look cool). Also,Ihated the satirical uses of 2 of the greatest lines of dialogue from the original.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not Too Bad
Review: I found this movie to be very entertaining. I have always liked Tim Burton's unique style of visual eye candy he always seem to have ready for us viewers. The scenes flow rapidly and the story moves along at a quick clip. I categorized this movie as "brainless entertainment". Meaning, the plot is not deep and we are engaged in constant action thoughout the film.

I really enjoyed the makeup and the acting of the apes. Tim Roth plays an excellent General Thade and Helena Bonham Carter is wonderfully sweet as Ari. I feel there could have been a little more in character development though. I just didn't get to hate General Thade (like Roth's character from Rob Roy - Archibald Cunningham) and get to love Ari. But character development aside, Roth and Carter are a pleasure to watch. I found it fun to watch how the apes interact with each other. The way they would avert eyes, smell, "coo", growl, etc. The affectionate back of the hand touch and the respect of the "personal space" was done quite well.

All in all, it was very enterataining, and that is sometimes the only reason I want to go to a movie. To be entertained. You won't get emotional, but you will be intrigued with the apes. So sit back and enjoy this one. It's fun to watch. :) Oh, don't worry about it being a "remake" of the older 1968 film - this one's based on the novel.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Return to the Planet of the Apes
Review: The original 1968 classic "Planet of the Apes" is one of the greatest movies of all time, thus making 2001's Planet of the Apes a highly anticipated film. In the way of special effects and the new "ape" make-up, the movie slapped those anticipations in the face and said to viewers "we did better than you thought." Saddly special effects and make-up a movie do not make and the core audience I think, fans of the orignal Ape movies, were more interested in the story and how the movie would end than anything else. The new "Planet of the Apes" was actually a pretty good sci-fi flick . . . except for maybe the last ten or fifteen minutes which I'll tell you about latter without giving too much away.

What got my attention first was the opening title theme and credit sequence, so much so I had to buy the soundtrack just so I could listen to the open music without watching the movie over and over again. It was that good. The rest of the music was so so, but good. The special effects were great, and the ape make-up was over the top. The actors looked and acted (or should I say walked) like they were five and six feet tall monkeys. If not for the credits, you wouldn't know who was underneath that stuff.

Lastly comes the plot, which as I said before, stays pretty strong until the very end. Everything quickly unravels upon itself when Hollywood once again expects the everyday person to willingly believe electronic equipment will still funtion nearly as well in thousands of years as it does now. Then there's the whole Spaceman trying to rally his human troops thing. I wouldn't follow that guy into battle even if my life did depend on it. The final blow to the movie's end comes at the very last scene which, although I won't reveal the details, made little sense to me or others I know who've seen this reimagined version of "Planet of the Apes." Of course nothing could ever top the original's ending with the Statue of Liberty.

All in all, this was a pretty darn good movie that doesn't lose itself until the very end. If anything else, it was worth it just to see how someone else would invision Planet of the Apes and to see all those actors playing apes in that snazzy make-up. It's probably worth your time to see it at least once. Actually, I liked it better the second time around. Go figure.


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