Planet of the Apes
	Rated PG-13
	Runtime: 2hr 0min
	Staring: Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Estella Warren and Michael Clarke Duncan
	MFG Rating: 3/5

Planet of the Apes is one of the most eagerly awaited films of the summer. The question is can it live up to the hype and measure up to the 1968 classic first version which inspired a series of sequels and even a TV series? The immediate answer is visually it certainly does. But the story, well, that requires some additional consideration.

The story isn't exactly the same as the 1968 original. Director Tim Burton calls this a "reimagining" of the same story. This time, our hero is played by Mark Wahlberg, and as in the original he finds himself crash landed on a planet where apes are the superior primates, not humans. Some of the differences are that Mark comes alone instead of with a crew and this time the native humans can talk. And the plot of the movie involving the interaction between the apes and their new visiting human is just totally different from the original, but I will say no more in order to avoid spoiling anything.

Wahlberg gets credit as the star, but the real stars here are the wonderful creations of Rick Baker. For those of you who do not know, Rick is far and away the best makeup man in Hollywood. Every character you've seen in the last 20 years where the makeup is just jaw dropping from The Klump family in Nutty Professor to the Grinch to the werewolves in Wolf and An American Werewolf in London to Bigfoot in Harry and the Henderson are all the masterpieces of Baker. He has done apes before too including Gorillas in the Mist among others. But I believe Planet of the Apes is by far his best work to date and is perhaps his Sistine Chapel.

The apes are simply incredible. They look great and believable even in closeups. Unlike the original, their movements and mannerisms are also much more ape-like. And then there's Ari, the sympathetic female ape played by Helena Bonham Carter. Baker was challenged to create an attractive, yet realistic looking female ape to present a bit of an interspecies romantic triangle that is believable. He succeeded, we'd probably do her if she shaved her back.

The movie is gorgeous and perhaps worth seeing on the big screen just for the makeup alone. But the story is just kinda there and although Mark Wahlberg has done some good work recently, he doesn't come close to upstaging Charlton Heston here. Everything about the movie, other than the apes, seems to underachieve. There's humor, but not near enough. The action is somewhat limited by the story being staged on a primitive planet and a PG-13 rating. The SciFi aspect, well, this isn't deep sci-fi to anyone over the age of 12.

And then there's the ending, the big secret surprise ending. It drove our team of reviewers right out of their tree. Word is that Burton filmed 6 different endings. And if after monkeying around with all of them, this is the best one, he must have gone bananas. Our final score is 3 stars for the movie, it's loaded with great eye candy and a classic premise, but overall is a bit of an underachiever.

- Billy Bob

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