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Planet of the Apes
20th Century Fox Film Corporation


5.3

based on 34 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 88 votes
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FILM:

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for some sequences of action/violence

Starring Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Kris Kristofferson, Estella Warren, and Paul Giamatti

Burton's Planet of the Apes begins with the famed original's premise - a pilot finds himself in a world turned upside down after landing on a strange planet - with the celebrated filmmaker's unique personal vision and style breaking new ground in story, design, makeup, and visual effects. (20th Century Fox)

GENRE(S):	Sci-fi
WRITTEN BY:	Pierre Boulle (novel) William Broyles Jr. Lawrence Konner Mark Rosenthal
DIRECTED BY:	Tim Burton
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: November 20, 2001 Video: November 20, 2001 Theatrical: July 27, 2001
RUNNING TIME:	120 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham

The new Planet of the Apes is not a remake, and it's not a sequel. It is an amazing display of imagination.

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

The marvelous Burtonic gothic/nightmare production design -- scenery, weaponry, costumes, etc. constantly pleases the eye without ever distracting you from the plot.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

This century's Planet of the Apes is a rouser, a screaming-banshee fun house.

Newsweek Jeff Giles

Has its flaws, but at its best it’s a fleet, fun action movie -- and certainly one of the cooler blockbusters that Hollywood will cough up this godforsaken summer.

Washington Post Rita Kempley

Forget the heavy stuff. This monkey shines.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

It has its flaws, and traditionalists are likely to think it falls well short of its inspiration, but it works on its own terms, it fills the screen with Burtonesque excitement and it strikes me as one of this tepid movie summer's better offerings.

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

There's one reason to see Tim Burton's flawed, somewhat declawed but often amusing do-over of Planet of the Apes. The apes. What else?

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Stuff yourself with popcorn, let the gray matter rest and enjoy what may be the best two hours of nonsense you'll see this year.

New Times (L.A.) Robert Wilonsky

Perfectly acceptable, deliriously charming...a goofy Bmovie dolled up like a square-jawed A-list blockbuster.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Past the first third, Planet of the Apes is entertaining enough, but it stops far too short of being completely seductive.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Simply put, Burton's film lacks the social and political gravitas of the original, a film that was wholly of its time.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Offers a primal vision of the primate order turned topsy-turvy. It is provocative. It is frightening. It is a mess.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Burton's made a film that's respectful to the original, and respectable in itself, but that's not enough. Ten years from now, it will be the 1968 version that people are still renting.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

If only the director, or his deus, could have delivered us from the inevitable shock ending, which blends Darwin and Einstein with purest P.T. Barnum.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

As a story, Burton's Planet of the Apes is more of a comic-book creation than either of his "Batman" movies.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Are there surprises? A couple of big money ones, notably the ludicrous would-be jaw-dropper of a finale.

Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan

Good, but, sadly, not good enough. Well-acted, beautifully shot and splendidly costumed, it's superior to the original in its looks, but not as potent or meaningful in its story line.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Planet of the Apes is never quite boring -- the movie is constantly giving you something new to look at -- but it's still a disappointingly dull and underplotted ride.

LA Weekly Manohla Dargis

Overly familiar industrial product, a big-budgeted entertainment defined by its putatively big concept (apes rule), an underwritten script and a few flashes of Burton's visual genius and gently askew worldview.

Time Richard Schickel

Mostly, the new film reminds us that swell production design is no substitute for a fresh, simple and startling idea.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

With the exception of a battle scene with apes on all fours charging the humans, the film is monumentally silly.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

This film is pure, empty (if gorgeous) spectacle, and the decision to loose the tongues of the ape planet's humans (they were mute in the original) undermines the contrast that lies at the heart of the story's power.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

It's too psychically flat and dramatically inert. Instead of reinvigorating a Hollywood classic, Burton only takes it to camp.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Burton is an imaginative director with a distinctive artistic vision, but his originality is nowhere to be seen in this by-the-numbers retread.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Outside of a hyper-energetic, irresistibly evil portrayal by Tim Roth as General Thade, the baddest ape in town, the sad truth about Planet of the Apes is that, disappointingly, it's just not very much fun to watch.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

When Mr. Burton's "Planet" fixes on being entertaining...it succeeds. But the picture states its social points so bluntly that it becomes slow-witted and condescending; it treats the audience as pets.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

The longer I take to review this movie, the more the absurdities loom. So let me finish before I think about the story's stupidly plotted structure or recall how tiring it was to watch apes perpetually pushing humans to the ground or sending them pirouetting into the air.

New York Magazine John Simon

Devoured by its own mechanical ostentation, generates no emotional involvement, and has a smart-ass, infinitely less powerful ending than the original.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Largely listless and witless, this extensive reworking of the 1968 sci-fi favorite simply isn't very exciting or imaginative; most surprisingly, given the material, it's also Burton's most conventional and literal-minded film, the one most lacking in his trademark poetic weirdness and bracing flights of fancy.

Slate David Edelstein

Planet of the Apes has been designed and photographed (by Phillipe Rousselot) with real artistry, but in all the ways that matter it's hack work.

Mr. Showbiz Larry Terenzi

The most disappointing aspect of Planet of the Apes is that, despite its presentation, the film is so very ordinary, without urgency or revelation.

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

It's a campy, juiced-up ker-splat, busy with clumsy pyrotechnics and never nearing the vicinity of satire.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

As satire it's toothless and at times close to incoherent; its predictable swipes are aimed equally at conservative racists and bleeding-heart liberals.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

My Homo sapiens brain was boggled by the movie's clumsiness, while my heart was chilled by the chance that otherwise mature members of my species might mistake this disjointed botch for summer entertainment.

The average user rating for this movie is 5.3 (out of 10) based on 88 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Dan B. gave it a10:
For someone like me who hasn't seen the original, a type of person I think most reviews failed to consider, I think this is a more than competent, and very thought provoking, fitting modern sci-fi great, genuinly any fan of sci-fi, anyone who cares about animals, anyone who has questions about human nature and whats its all about, with get a lot out of this movie, without it even necessarily needing to be directly related to the viewer, and thats the beauty of it...Enjoy.

R. Lopez gave it a10:
Exceptional!! Planet of the Apes is perhaps one of the brainiest and most visually stunning film I've ever seen. Planet of the Apes stars Mark Whalberg as Captain Leo Davidson a 22 century astronaut who while his genetically altered Ape is investigating an electro-magnetic storm suddenly disappears into thin air, Davidson defies orders and takes a pod out into the cloud to look for his chimp. But as soon as he enters he losses all control of his ships and is sent into an alternate reality where Apes rule and humans are there slaves. Now Davidson has one shot of getting home, he has to tread across uncharted territory to find a sacred temple which could hold the shocking secrets to mankind's past- and the last hope for it's salvation. Planet of the apes is an amazing Si-Fi epic that will have you cheering for the little guy and will have you on the edge of your seat through out. I give Planet of the apes a 4 out of 5.

B R gave it a3:
I can't understand anyone giving this movie even a mediocre scroe. It was terrible. bad acting, predicatable plot. Just plain dumb.

[Anonymous] gave it a7:
It's not outright BAD, but not very good. Has cool effects and all, but the story feels kinda cliched. Heard the old one was better (haven't seen it). Not a bad movie, just another piece of sci-fi stuff. Worth ONE watch, but maybe not more than that.

[Anonymous] gave it a 10:
How can people grip so much. This film is what a scifi movie should be. All the costumes are really cool. There is nothing to dislike about the movie. A lot of hard work went into the creation of this futuristic appeal. More than worthwhile viewing experience for everyone. The makeup, props, special effects, settings, choreography, and sheer attention to detail are all first class. The music by Danny Elfman is great. It really would have been nice for more positive comments to be added to this film to help develop a sequel. Planet of the apes rule. The female apes seem pretty. Plus it would be nice to be more ape like anyway since this movie points out how much stronger they are than puny humans.

[Anonymous] gave it a 10:
Tim Burton does another great job. This movie was good all the way through. Enjoy the movie for itself; try not to compare it to the original. Remaking such an icon is a big task at the best of times, and Burton does his best, using his original dark style to the film.

Rob M. gave it a 10:
This remake was well done and the plot cannot be any better than the first. Very good job on the makeup. The funnest part of the movie was when the human slave trader stated that the worse thing to be in the house is a teen-aged human.

Planet of the Apes 20th Century Fox Film Corporation

Planet of the Apes
20th Century Fox Film Corporation