*****THE REEL DEAL: Reviewz from the Street*****
BIASES: mid 20s black male; frustrated screenwriter who favors action, comedy, and glossy, big budget movies over indie flicks, kiddie flicks, and weepy Merchant Ivory fare

PLANET OF THE APES

MOVIE BIASES: C'mon, now. I'm pre-sold.
MAJOR PLAYERS: Mark Wahlberg (Boogie Nights), Tim Roth (Pulp Fiction), Helena Bonham Carter (Fight Club), Michael Clarke Duncan (The Green Mile), and director Tim Burton (Sleepy Hollow).

"Take your stinking hands off me, you damn dirty human!" That's right. This ain't your momma's "Planet of the Apes."

Set in 2029 at the edge of the universe, astronaut Leo Davidson (Wahlberg) leaves the safety of his space station after his recon-trained chimp Pericles gets lost in the midst of a space storm while advance scouting for the humans. When Leo gets sucked into some sort of time warp, he's spat out onto a strange planet where humans are slaves and apes are the law. In this topsy-turvy world, Leo, of course, rebels and escapes slavery, with the other feisty humans rallying around his reluctant leadership. "Human-rights" activist Ari (Bonham Carter), an aristocratic ape herself with leftist tendencies, supports his effort to free the humans from the under the boot of the irrepressibly savage General Thade (Roth), commander of the ape army. Thade will not rest until Leo is dead. The fate of that world is in Leo's hands. Will humanity survive?

You bet your faded New Kids on the Block t-shirt it will. An interesting choice for an action hero, Wahlberg is up to the task, gamely reining in any impulse to overact by delivering in solid, hushed tones. While bordering on too cerebral, Wahlberg is the kind of performer who always seems to draw you in instead of shouting and carrying on to attract attention to himself. Somehow, he always gets the job done. Roth's portrayal of Thade, so far, takes the cake as Villain of the Year. Even without the hideously excellent makeup job, Roth's sniffing, leaping, sneering take on ape-ism is one of the more menacing performances in recent memory. If I see Thade walking down my side of the street, I move to a different STATE. Bonham Carter is believably sincere as the "sexy chimp" of the movie, and Michael Clarke Duncan is so much the part of army right-hand-ape, that you don't even realize that it's John Coffy ("just like the drink, but spelt diff'rent") in there.

But y'all know the real deal - it's all about the apes. The makeup job by Rick Baker is absolutely astounding. Once again, this Oscar award-winning makeup artist is in a class by himself; just mail him the Oscar today. The script, while hitting upon obvious themes of slavery and racism, still manages to be engaging and swift, providing us something that we've been missing in action films this summer. That's right - A PLOT. The musical score by Danny Elfman is pitch perfect for the vision of the only guy who could have resuscitated a cheesy franchise into something straight up cool - Tim Burton.

From the opening credits, underscored by Elfman's "Rule the Planet" theme, this is undoubtedly Burton's film. The movie is dark, scary, morally ambiguous, and visually arresting. Even the (great) costuming bears Burton's touch, with his having helped design the battle helmets of the ape army. Once again, Burton has created a whole universe that ably navigates the stars in and around his vision. If there's any debit to "POTA," it's that it may be a little too dark, and that a three-way, interspecial romance may be stretching even my supple suspension of disbelief. As they have left this movie sequel-ready (and you bet your bottom dollar it's already in development after this weekend's 70 MILLION dollar take), I just hope Burton will be back to do the sequel. He certainly rules the planet.

@@@ REELS
(THREE REELS)
It's pretty hot - go give it a shot.

Like what you read? Agree/disagree with The Reel Deal? Think he's talkin' out
his...HUSH YO' MOUF! (I'm only talkin' about The Reel Deal!) Email him at
ReelReviewz@aol.com!
© 2001, THE REEL DEAL