In 2001, a remake of the 1968 cult classic Planet of the Apes was released. Directed by Tim Burton, this version follows Captain Leo Davidson, played by Mark Wahlberg, of the United States Air Force spaceship Oberon as he fights for survival and human liberation after he travels through a time warp and crash lands on a planet ruled by cruel apes.
While Tim Burton’s version was entertaining and exciting at times, it lacked the same quality as the 1968 version. We’ll explore the confusing plot, an odd love triangle featuring love tropes, and how the movie fits into the Planet of the Apes universe as a whole.
Alternate Universes, Time Travel, or Time Warps?
When the movie was first released, the conclusion left audiences confused. That hasn’t changed. It is revealed that the forbidden area of the planet, called Calima, actually houses the remains of the Oberon. This is where things get complicated.
Leo learns that his crew went looking for him after he crash-landed and ended up meeting the same fate just thousands of years prior. The monkeys onboard they were experimenting with rebelled and took over the planet. That makes sense, right?
But it’s not clear how Leo landed on the same planet thousands of years later. Did the Oberon go through a separate time warp? It’s anyone’s guess. Making for an unexpected twist, when Leo finally makes it back to Earth, he discovers the Lincoln Monument is now honoring General Thade, the evil general of the army that the humans fight against.
So how did this happen? It’s unsure if Leo landed on an alternate Earth, if the ape planet really was Earth and he altered the future, or if he was in the past to begin with and landed in the future. Unless you’re prepared to draw a diagram, scour the internet for fan theories, or ask Tim Burton himself, there’s really no way to know for certain.
Love Tropes and Triangles
While Captain Leo Davidson struggles against the apes to free the humans, two women are falling in love with him (well, one woman played by Estella Warren and one daughter of a senator chimpanzee played by Helena Bonham Carter) and drawing the audience’s attention from Leo’s mission–to save the planet and return to his own time.
Burton takes the overdone ‘stubborn daughter of a powerful man falls in love with the rebel’ trope and applies it to Ari and Leo, which is so odd that it’s hard to concentrate on the movie itself. Even odder, we’re expected to take this romance seriously and cheer for them when they share a kiss at the end of the movie.
Daena is with Leo for a majority of the time and finds herself falling for him too. She also kisses him before he leaves for his planet. This love triangle raises the question: why does Leo need a love interest at all?
Burton’s version is a loose remake of the original, in which Charlton Heston escapes from Ape City with Nova, his damsel in distress. So, it’s not hard to understand why Burton has Leo in a similar situation, but Ari’s involvement and ensuing love triangle is nothing but a very confusing, unnecessary, and odd choice.
Sorry, Tim Burton, But We Had Fun
It’s probably not a secret that this loose remake doesn’t belong with the rest of the franchise. As fun and entertaining as it was, it’s difficult to take seriously. With chimpanzees falling in love with humans and an undefined conclusion, you begin to wonder if the writers and Tim Burton even want you to take it seriously.
It’s supposed to serve as a loose remake, but it doesn’t feel like that at all. When you compare it to the original or even the 2011 reboot Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Tim Burton’s is on a planet of its own.
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