Related articles and links |  1 of 3

Of critics in the religious media, The Dove Foundation's Holly McClure goes fairly easy on the movie: "The makeup is truly phenomenal and brings a lifelike feel to the characters. The funniest scenes are the subtle spoofs on monkey/human humor, but unfortunately there were too many of those and not enough character depth to make you care about any of the struggling survivors." The U.S. Catholic Conference says the film is a mixed bag: "Director Tim Burton's reinvention excels in its makeup and visual effects, but lacks narrative depth with self-conscious dialogue and a sly cynicism toward religious beliefs." Movieguide's critic points out some problems. "Planet of the Apes … is plagued by plot holes, story inconsistencies and self-contradictions, poor dialogue, over the top acting, an abhorrent worldview, and a very weak hero and lead actor. The Twilight Zone ending will leave many people scratching their heads, because it is inane." John Barber at Preview writes, "Fans of the original may enjoy the comic relief provided by references to the 1968 classic and a slightly-more-than-cameo appearance by its star, Charlton Heston. But throw the updated special effects aside, and this film is not as intriguing the second time around. A faint attempt to copy the drama of Heston's discovery … of the Statue of Liberty in ruins falls short."

The Phantom Tollbooth's J. Robert Parks was similarly dazzled and disappointed. "The latex masks and intricately detailed hairpieces are so realistic and allow the actors so much freedom of expression that you might forget you're actually watching human actors in monkey suits. Similarly, the production design of longtime Burton collaborator Rick Heinrichs is equal to his impressive work in last year's Sleepy Hollow. The sets are fantastic and believable. And Danny Elfman's score and Richard Anderson's impressive sound effects envelop you. You feel as if you've entered another world. Now all we need is a reason to care. Though the script is actually somewhat intelligent and the dialogue reasonably interesting, the story is genuinely dull."

Michael Elliott of Movie Parables digs deeper into the film's subtext: "The original film was seen in its day as being a metaphor for ills of racial division. Burton's version also has a number of philosophical undercurrents running through it … not least of which is a religious/spiritual subtext. … The ape culture is depicted as worshiping the Christlike figure, Semos, who was the first of their kind and who, they believe, will one day return. This belief of theirs is based on legend and tall tales handed down for millennia, which leads the movie audience to the unspoken but inevitable conclusion that today's followers of Christ do the same." Focus on the Family's Bob Smithouser claims the story is built around "a spiritual vacuum. Not only does the script build on the rickety foundation of macroevolution, but it does so at the expense of orthodox religion." He also points out an interesting inadvertent theme in the film: "Why does so much sci-fi hinge on the heroics of otherworldly saviors? From Superman to E.T., it appears there's a Christ-shaped hole audiences don't even know they have, and it's being filled by cleverly conceived substitutes. Of course, the opportunity awaiting Christians is to draw upon these cultural models to point fans of fiction to the real Hero, Jesus."

next page... |  1 of 3

share this page

July (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45