|
Tim
Burton usually reinvents tired old places and turns them into
something more enchanting and worthy of our awe, as was the case
in his versions of Gotham City and Sleepy Hollow. However, his
updated rendition of the 1968 cult classic of the same name
proves to be anything but inspired.
The year is 2029, and U.S. Air Force Captain Leo Davidson (Mark
Wahlberg) is onboard a space station. He and his crew are
on a special task to train genetically altered chimps into
flying unmanned space missions. However, during an unplanned
exercise, Davidson gets trapped in some sort of electromagnetic
storm that hurls him to the far reaches of space and time, and
he ends up crashing onto an unknown planet 400 years into the
future. It doesn't take a long time for him to realize that this
is no ordinary world for the balance of power is shifted. Apes
and not humans are on top of the evolutionary ladder. Trying to
make sense of such a topsy-turvy world, Davidson must now find a
way to get back to Earth, while at the same time help out the
humans.
The cast is great with established talents such as Helena Bonham
Carter and Tim Roth, and Mark Wahlberg proves once again that he
is more than just a pretty boy that can rap, for he can actually
carry a movie (like in "Boogie Nights"). However,
actors can only do so much. The screenplay is what really
defines a film, and it is here that the film falters. The
dialogue is very dry. It serves the purpose of moving the
plot from point A to point B to point C (and eventually to a
perplexing and absurd conclusion), but we don't hear anything
memorable as we go along.
The film is simply just pure science fiction, although it tries
every once in a while to be a social commentary, which seemed
strained sometimes. I admired it more for its sense of adventure
and the way it found humor when we watch apes do what humans
usually do.
There is nothing extremely bad about Burton's "Planet of
the Apes", but at the same time there's nothing exceptional
about it either. This version is only one step up from complete
mediocrity. The premise is interesting enough to make us stay,
although fans of the original film will be terribly
disappointed. Let's just move on to the next hunk of rock
because this "Planet" isn't worth a second visit.
TOP
|
