By: debbie lynn elias
Adages abound when trying to describe Tim Burton’s version of “Planet of the Apes.” Everything old is new again — NOT! Leave well enough alone – Most definitely! Despite extraordinary make-up by the legendary master Rick Baker, this remake or “re-envisioned” version of the 1968 classic which starred Charlton Heston, this 2001 “Planet of the Apes” falls short on the evolutionary ladder of movie-making.
The story is essentially the same as the original Apes although our hero, U.S. Air Force Captain Leo Davidson played by Mark Wahlberg, now works on a research spaceship studying ape intelligence. The year is 2029 and Leo’s pet project is teaching a chimpanzee names Pericles to “man” a small spacecraft. When something goes awry and Pericles’ craft is lost in an electromagnetic field, Leo, suffering from the I-want-to-pilot-a-ship-in-space syndrome, decides to go after Pericles, resulting in his falling prey to the same electromagnetic field and time warp that took the chimp, and he crash lands on a planet run by apes. Quickly captured by a slave trader named Limbo (enterprisingly and comically played by Paul Giamatti), along with resident renegade humans, Leo is purchased by the sympathetic simian Ari, warmly and expressively played by Helena Bonham-Carter, who develops obvious romantic feelings and a strong sexual attraction for Leo. Ari, the daughter of an elder Senator in the ape parliament is a bleeding heart liberal human activist with a penchant for causing trouble in the name of human rights. Leo, of course, only wants to get off the planet and return to his ship. With the aid of Ari, Leo escapes the ape city along with fellow captured humans, including Daena (the alleged human love interest for Leo), her brother and father (played by a Neanderthal looking Kris Kristofferson), only to find himself appointed as savior to the downtrodden and enslaved humans who inhabit the planet. It is Leo they look to for salvation and freedom from their ape rulers while Leo just looks for escape from the planet. Wahlberg plays Davidson with indifference to his situation and surroundings, showing little to no emotion save for his interaction with his chimp Pericles.
The only reason to see “Apes” is the apes. Headed by General Thade, maleficently and savagely portrayed by Tim Roth, the apes and the ape army are phenomena unto themselves. Not limited to one or two types of apes, Rick Baker goes ape with make-up transformance, using two make-up artists per actor and achieving results with such realism and individualistic defining traits, that one wonders whether you are watching actual apes or actors. Michael Clarke Duncan as Thade’s gorilla lieutenant Attar, through use of expressive eye and facial movements, evokes levels of emotion laden with humanness despite his savagery. A bravura performance. Designed by costumer Colleen Atwood, ape military regalia, complete with armor and conical helmetry, is impressive and commanding in stark contrast to the tatters which clothe the humans.
Although overall visually disappointing for a Tim Burton film, Apes nevertheless has its moments during the ape attack. With a combination of ground troops “running” on all fours, apes swinging from trees and vines a la Tarzan, bouncing onto horses on all fours and then riding erect at a full cavalry charge culminating in an engagement of hand-to-hand combat with the humans, the effect is riveting. Kudos to the educators at the ape school that trained the actors to be their beastly best.
There are some other moments to be noted just for their pure irony. Helena Bonham Carter’s Ari holding a quill pen in her toes as she writes, a young female ape dressing up her pet human in matching pink ruffled “doll” clothes, apes using rose petals as deodorant and commentary on ape bad hair days can’t help but draw a chuckle. Bringing the ape phenom full circle however, is an appearance by Charlton Heston as Thade’s dying ape father who reveals the true capabilities of humans by producing an ancient artifact of extraordinary power.
Rumored to have filmed seven or eight endings for the film, one can only wonder if the one selected here was the best or the worst of the bunch. An interesting twist to an interesting interpretation. Although not one of Burton’s best, Apes is nonetheless watchable, however, it will never compare to Franklin Schaffner’s original.
