Planet of the Apes

Burton's "re-imagining" of the story looks more to the original novel by Pierre Boulle than it does to the 1968 classic. Wahlberg, as generic action hero Leo Davidson, takes over the Heston role, but with nowhere near the bravado or screen presence. Roth excels as Gen. Thade, an angry militarist with a loathing for all humans and a contempt for polite ape society. Needless to say, Leo becomes the focus for his rage. Come to think of it, all of the actors in the ape makeup do a fine job. The makeup effects, courtesy of Rick Baker, are astounding (and light-years ahead of where they were in '68), and the action moves along at a satisfyingly brisk pace. The screenplay provides plenty of sly and clever references to the original, but doesn't have its sense of social commentary (this is, after all, a summer blockbuster). What it does have is a twist ending that seems tacked on for the purpose of setting up a sequel.