Planet of the Apes (From Stroud News and Journal)

Planet of the Apes

PLANET OF THE APES (12) Nobody could have foreseen 33 years ago what an enduring success Planet of the Apes 1968 would become.

It was 5 years earlier in 1963 that the Hollywood legend publicist Arthur P. Jacobs (the first man to be told of Marilyn Monroe's overdose) was given the outline story of a book by Pierre Boulle called Planete des Singes.

Jacobs was convinced it would be a winner. However this proved to be a nightmare project to launch. Studio after studio ridiculed him.

So in desperation he decided on a secret screen test, shown to a jury of nine 20th Century Fox big wigs. He knew all was lost if they laughed.

They didn't and the rest is history. This new Planet of the Apes is not meant to be a sequel or a remake, but unique. However though there are enough differences the premise seems much the same to me.

Pericles, an experimental astronaut chimp, is lost in space, leaving Capt. Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg) a worried man. So without a thought for himself and against orders he hops in a pod and goes in search of his primate chum.

Caught in an electromagnetic storm he crash-lands on an unknown planet where life is topsy-turvy. Cultured apes rule and humans are the beasties.

He is immediately rounded up and captured by the evil chimpanzee General Thade (Tim Roth). The General hates humans, but secretly believes they are more intelligent than they appear.

He was indoctrinated with his fascist views by his equally vile father, (played in a cameo by Charlton Heston) who on his deathbed spews out an immortal exit line. Leo meets ape woman Ari (Helena Bonham Carter) who is very attracted to him. She is a liberal who believes in equality.

So she helps Leo plus some other human rebels escape and shows them the route to The Forbidden Zone and hopefully their salvation. I am afraid Mark Wahlberg (Boogie Nights) just doesn't do it for me. He is heroic but not manly enough. The part needs someone with Charlton Hestons (Planet of the Apes 1968) earthy sexuality.

Fortunately the larger than life General Thade more than makes up for this. Six times Oscar winning make-up designer Rick Baker (The Grinch) has done a truly breathtaking job with every ape, but none more so than on the dastardly Thade, whose leathery simian skin is creepily realistic.

Baker has also given all the apes teeth, which is alarmingly effective and in a perverse way makes them easier to relate to. Composer Danny Elfmans (Sleepy Hollow) sound track is very dramatic, particularly in the first 5 minutes, which seals the threatening mood perfectly.

Other credits should go to cinematographer Philippe Rousselot (A River Runs Through It) and production designer Rich Heinrichs (Fargo). The sets are fantastic, sinister with a very intimidating atmosphere.

On the whole Tim Burton (Batman) has played safe, which is unusual for this versatile director. The adaptation of writers William Broyles Jr. (Cast Away) Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal (The Jewel of the Nile) is extremely poor and fails to hang together.

It would be almost impossible to top the ending of the original film. I won't spoil it for anyone who has been on a different planet for the last 33 years; few finales could have been more unexpectedly spectacular.

This version tries to surprise but fails. That said, I visually enjoyed it. Nonetheless there is no doubt in my mind that in years to come the 1968 version will be the one that is remembered.

6/10