Planet Of The Apes

For a change of pace - much needed, in my opinion - I'll be reviewing Tim Burton's take on the classic Planet Of The Apes as a stand-alone film, without constantly referring to the 1968 original.

Critics had high expectations in both England and America, hoping that this new adventure would follow in the footsteps of Burton's previous films. Unfortunately, and don't pretend you didn't know this was coming, it is well below the standards of memorable greats, such as Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Batman.

Burton famously insists on only making movies that are completely different from work he has done before. It quickly becomes clear that he made an uncharacteristic mistake this time.

Undeniably, Planet is truly original. It may well be a remake, but Burton has made it his own, modernising it and taking full advantage of today's technology. It has that distinct Burton tinge, with an underlining feel of intense adventure. At times, I even felt like I was watching Jurassic Park.

What will always stand out, though, is the awesome and incredibly magnificent make-up. The apes are joyfully and uncannily realistic, almost to the point of being scary. This has got to be the number one human/animal conversion movie ever made.

Mark Wahlberg is nothing more than average. He plays the easy role in a hard film, and doesn't do it too well. He's believable as a space man, but you could tell he was hardly acting at all. It's unfortunate that Mr Wahlberg got the title credit, seeing as he is surrounded by such talent as Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Roth and, let's not forget, Michael Clark Duncan, who was my personal favourite.

Overall, I believe Burton could have done better. It's a memorable film, but for all the wrong reasons. This is what can only be discribed as a career lull for Tim, which, no doubt, will bring masses of work for an undeserving Wahlberg.