Planet Of The Apes (DVD 2001)

"Somewhere in the universe, there must be something better than man!" was the intriguing proposition that heralded the release of the original Planet Of The Apes thirty-three years ago. This time the trite tag line states, "Take back the planet". It's an indication that any comparisons between the two films will inevitably leave the latter coming up short.

The decision to entrust Tim Burton with directing the remake, or reimagining as it's been called, was a contentious one. The director's distinctly peculiar and dark vision has been a trademark of his films like Edward Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow. And while there are few who question his imaginative talents, there were plenty who wondered whether he was the right man to bring the Planet Of The Apes phenomenon back to life. It turns out that such scepticism was well founded as evidenced by the confused and un-engaging result.

Quite how to "reimagine" the story appears to be the film's fundamental problem. Corny gags that seem jarringly out of place in such a setting continually undermine its attempts at more serious sociological comment. Having one ape attributing her woes to "a bad hair day" or another take off its toupee and place its false teeth in a bedside jar before retiring for the night, might seem amusing twists on clichéd human behaviour, but given the film's loftier intentions, such asides appear ludicrous.

One of the most memorable features of the original was the brilliant make-up. Given that the more sophisticated prosthetic techniques available today are able to render even more convincing apes, it's ironic that the most memorable image of the new version is the disquieting way in which Helena Bonham Carter's simian character Ari resembles Michael Jackson.

The story centers on Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg), an astronaut based on a space station who is doing research into ape intelligence. When an ape-manned craft goes missing in an electro magnetic storm, Davidson goes to the chimp's rescue but too finds himself in trouble before crashing on a distant planet. Emerging unscathed except for his outfit that now resembles a chic creation from Gaultier's apocalyptic collection, he is quickly running for his life along with other humanoids before being captured by the ruling apes.

i hated this film because it says planet of the apes 2001 when it was really the 1974 version i was very unhappy with this buy