Two days ago, I said in my "Lost in Space" DVD review that I was never a fan of the original TV show, so I didn't really anticipate much when watching the '98 film adaptation. After that, I couldn't really be a fan of the film, either, because of how tedious and silly it was. Well, the reaction to Planet of the Apes is almost identical to the one for Lost in Space. I'm not a fan of the original POTA film (or any of its sequels for that matter) so I saw the 2001 Tim Burton remake with very modest expectations. In the end, I was pretty disappointed. Sure, the film looks good, the music by Danny Elfman is nice, and the apes actually look realistic enough to be believable. But is this supposed to be an action-adventure or a comedy? Because the ape mannerisms (most of ) feel very out-of-place, and the comic relief named Limbo didn't seem appropriate whenever he was onscreen (Paul Giamatti gave a decent performance, though). Then, there's the dialogue, which is unbelievably corny, even cornier than in the original '68 film. It almost sounded like I was watching a sci-fi soap opera. Also, the ending. Yes, everyone, including me, is still confused about the ambiguous ending. I know that it's up to us to analyze it. In fact, I think I understand, to some extent, how and why it happens. But come on, the ending seems like a cop-out, and it would have been better if it was explained in a very proper manner. And finally, Tim Burton directed this? Normally, I admire his works, but this looks like this could be his weakest film yet. And it doesn't even look like it was created by him: it's such a drastic departure from his usual arty style that it looks like he didn't even care about this project.

I can't really say that I like this remake. I'm not really grading this as a Burton film; I'm grading it as a Sci-Fi adventure film, and it doesn't really amount to much. There are some good things about it (the music, the look of the apes, and the look of the film), but everything else is just...poor. It's basically a below-average film, and I wish it could have been done much better if the filmmakers tried even harder.

Grade: 4/10
Two days ago, I said in my "Lost in Space" DVD review that I was never a fan of the original TV show, so I didn't really anticipate much when watching the '98 film adaptation. After that, I couldn't really be a fan of the film, either, because of how tedious and silly it was. Well, the reaction to Planet of the Apes is almost identical to the one for Lost in Space. I'm not a fan of the original POTA film (or any of its sequels for that matter) so I saw the 2001 Tim Burton remake with very modest expectations. In the end, I was pretty disappointed. Sure, the film looks good, the music by Danny Elfman is nice, and the apes actually look realistic enough to be believable. But is this supposed to be an action-adventure or a comedy? Because the ape mannerisms (most of ) feel very out-of-place, and the comic relief named Limbo didn't seem appropriate whenever he was onscreen (Paul Giamatti gave a decent performance, though). Then, there's the dialogue, which is unbelievably corny, even cornier than in the original '68 film. It almost sounded like I was watching a sci-fi soap opera. Also, the ending. Yes, everyone, including me, is still confused about the ambiguous ending. I know that it's up to us to analyze it. In fact, I think I understand, to some extent, how and why it happens. But come on, the ending seems like a cop-out, and it would have been better if it was explained in a very proper manner. And finally, Tim Burton directed this? Normally, I admire his works, but this looks like this could be his weakest film yet. And it doesn't even look like it was created by him: it's such a drastic departure from his usual arty style that it looks like he didn't even care about this project. I can't really say that I like this remake. I'm not really grading this as a Burton film; I'm grading it as a Sci-Fi adventure film, and it doesn't really amount to much. There are some good things about it (the music, the look of the apes, and the look of the film), but everything else is just... poor. It's basically a below-average film, and I wish it could have been done much better if the filmmakers tried even harder. Grade: 4/10