Planet of the Apes (2001)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Tim Burton

Writers (WGA):

Pierre Boulle (novel)
William Broyles Jr. (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

27 July 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The battle begins November 20th

Plot:

An astronaut lands on a planet inhabited by human-like apes, who rule the planet with an iron fist.

Plot Keywords:

Planet | Space | Astronaut | Space Station | Gorilla

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 9 wins & 20 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 26	9:30 AM	FX
Mon. July 27	12:01 AM	FX

Cast

Mark Wahlberg	...	Captain Leo Davidson
Tim Roth	...	Thade
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Ari
Michael Clarke Duncan	...	Attar
Paul Giamatti	...	Limbo
Estella Warren	...	Daena
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	Krull
David Warner	...	Sandar
Kris Kristofferson	...	Karubi
Erick Avari	...	Tival
Luke Eberl	...	Birn
Evan Parke	...	Gunnar (as Evan Dexter Parke)
Glenn Shadix	...	Senator Nado
Freda Foh Shen	...	Bon
Chris Ellis	...	Commander Karl Vasich

Also Known As:

Return of the Apes (USA) (working title)
The Visitor (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sequences of action/violence.

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS (uncredited)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Malaysia:U | South Korea:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Brazil:12 | Canada:PG (Canadian Home Video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:TE | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:12PG (original rating) | Ireland:PG (video rating) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (Approved No. 38373)

Filming Locations:

USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Linda Harrison, who played Nova in the first two films of the original five-part series, appears as a caged human in this film.

Goofs:

Continuity: The scratch on Leo's neck swaps sides and disappears randomly.

Quotes:

Ari: Stop it! Who told you, you could throw stones at humans?
Gorilla kid: My father
Ari: Did he ?He's wrong very wrong. You can tell him for me I said so.
Gorilla kid: Human lover!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Ring Two (2005)

Soundtrack:

Rule The Planet Remix

"Apes Lite"

Tim Burton's new "Planet of the Apes" is actually a remake--excuse me, a "re-imagining"--of the first TWO movies of the old series. Its occasional paraphrasing of lines from the original movie (devoid of any meaningful context), and its cameos by members of the original cast (Charlton Heston and Linda Harrison), only underscore that this new version isn't what the original was, i.e., an original. Mark Wahlberg, as Our Hero, has none of the cynical, edgy complexity of Heston's Taylor, and is in fact the sort of can-do flyboy Taylor found laughable. Much as I adore Helena Bonham Carter, her turn as Ari, a sultry, sexy, meddling, annoying human-rights activist, is ultimately tiresome, and absolutely incomparable to Kim Hunter's brave, brilliant, impish Zira of the old series. The role is also a criminal waste of Bonham Carter's beauty, hidden as it is behind a bizarre makeup that looks neither ape nor human. Rick Baker's highly-touted ape makeups (which I've enjoyed since the days of "Schlock" and "Kentucky Fried Movie") are highly uneven here. Tim Roth's villainous Thade has the best, with most of the rest being just adequate and no particular improvement over John Chambers' work in the original. And the socko ending (keep reading; I won't spoil it for you) is simply tacked on: unlike the jolting end of the original, it neither ties together nor arises from the movie's earlier action in a way that Explains Everything. Instead, it begs so many questions (mainly "How the heck did THAT happen?") that it seems engineered (or contrived) solely to set the stage for more sequels. All told, this is "Apes Lite," a comic-bookish caricature of the original, made for the short-attention-span crowd. It made me want to do something I hadn't done in ages: fire up the VCR and roll the original again. It's typical of the 1968 movie's gritty, clever irony that the first word of dialogue uttered by an ape--his entire line, in fact--is "Smile."