Planet of the Apes (2001) Critic Reviews

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.Read the full review

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

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.Read the full review

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.Read the full review

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

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.Read the full review

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.Read the full review

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

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