I was expecting a lot from this movie as the original had a major influence on me and is a genuine Science Fiction classic. I enjoyed this re-imagining but it was just okay - not great. The acting was mediocre - the sets and special effects were good and the make-up was of course spectacular.
What really lets it down is the plot. For example, in the original film the human slaves couldn't speak, reinforcing the fact that the apes saw them as savages. When Taylor (Charlton Heston) spoke, it was a potent weapon against the apes' prejudice - the fact that he had language and thus cognitive abilities shook their entire belief system. In this movie the humans are chatting away normally which lessens the importance of Davidson's (Mark Whalberg) arrival.
And could somebody please tell me what the point of the blond woman was? Sure she is beautiful, but her character just felt tacked onto the plot to provide some eye candy.
I found the ending to be a big let down - again it was clumsily stuck into the film to provide that twist in the tail. It just didn't feel like it was part of the story, but more of an afterthought.
Despite my criticism, I enjoyed the movie. There's some great action scenes and hey - it's Planet of the Apes! There's nothing horribly bad about it - it just doesn't live up to the wonderful original.
Rent this one or wait for it to be on TV.
7/10
What really lets it down is the plot. For example, in the original film the human slaves couldn't speak, reinforcing the fact that the apes saw them as savages. When Taylor (Charlton Heston) spoke, it was a potent weapon against the apes' prejudice - the fact that he had language and thus cognitive abilities shook their entire belief system. In this movie the humans are chatting away normally which lessens the importance of Davidson's (Mark Whalberg) arrival.
And could somebody please tell me what the point of the blond woman was? Sure she is beautiful, but her character just felt tacked onto the plot to provide some eye candy.
I found the ending to be a big let down - again it was clumsily stuck into the film to provide that twist in the tail. It just didn't feel like it was part of the story, but more of an afterthought.
Despite my criticism, I enjoyed the movie. There's some great action scenes and hey - it's Planet of the Apes! There's nothing horribly bad about it - it just doesn't live up to the wonderful original.
Rent this one or wait for it to be on TV.
7/10