Planet of the Apes
2001 · Directed by Tim Burton
Original language: English
- thriller
- science fiction
- action
- adventure
The story
After a spectacular crash-landing on an uncharted planet, brash astronaut Leo Davidson finds himself trapped in a savage world where talking apes dominate the human race. Desperate to find a way home, Leo must evade the invincible gorilla army led by Ruthless General Thade.
What it’s like
Hard, saturated desert light sits over a sprawling ape civilisation of rust-red canyons, bleached dunes and towering tree-stump cities, with the human world rendered in grimy, cold-toned slave-camp grit. Burton's 2001 remake leans on elaborate prosthetic makeup and a heavy, dark-brown palette, and its camerawork is restless: handheld scrambles through forests and crowded markets, quick cuts during chases, and wide, ominous shots of ape armies massed on dusty plains. Danny Elfman's orchestral score swells with brassy, martial menace, punctuated by the thump of drums and the hiss of wind across barren land. The vibe is dusty, feverish adventure with a cynical streak, its moods shifting between goofy absurdity and brutal tension. Expect frequent action, scenes of ape-on-human violence, and captivity cruelty, with some grim imagery and sustained peril throughout, though the blood is restrained. The rhythm is brisk and episodic, built around escapes and confrontations, and the arc follows a cocky outsider stripped of his bravado and forced into an uneasy alliance. It suits a fast-paced genre night for viewers who enjoy big spectacle, creature design and a bit of tongue-in-cheek sci-fi.
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