Rating: PG13
Genre:
Science Fiction
Theatrical Release: 07/27/2001(USA)
Release Date: 11/20/2001
Flags: Violence, Questionable for Children
Distributor/Studio: 20th Century Fox
This big budget "re-imagining" of the 1968 original departs somewhat from both that classic science fiction film and the source novel by author
Pierre Boulle.
Mark Wahlberg stars as
Leo Davidson, an astronaut of the early 21st century whose unauthorized mission to rescue a chimp companion from a mysterious space storm goes awry when he and his ship are lost through a rip in the fabric of time.
Leo crash-lands on a planet where intelligent, talking apes are the dominant species and humans a conquered slave class. Befriending both a chimpanzee activist named
Ari (
Helena Bonham Carter), who's sympathetic to humans, and a beautiful human rebel,
Daena (
Estella Warren),
Leo quickly becomes a prominent figure of resistance to his fellow humans. This makes him an instant source of irritation for the militant and ambitious
General Thade (
Tim Roth) and his trusted adjutant,
Attar (
Michael Clarke Duncan), who intend to hunt
Leo down and crush the burgeoning human uprising. War looms between ape and human as
Leo and his band head for a sacred site deep in an off-limits desert, where secrets about the planet's ape and human ancestry wait to be revealed.
Planet of the Apes is directed by
Tim Burton and features the original film's star,
Charlton Heston, in a cameo role as the dying father of
Thade.
~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
;)
