Why People Hate It: The apes look so much like humans in the facial region that it's kind of creepy, and Tim Roth insists on chewing the scenery into little tiny bits. Also, there's that creepy romantic attachment between Mark Wahlberg's human and Helena Bonham Carter's ape that we all probably could have survived without seeing. Why People Should Hate It: It's such an unimaginative and by-the-numbers adaptation of the iconic science fiction classic. They took all the basic plot elements and design concepts of the original films, and took away anything that gave the film a deeper meaning. There's an incredibly rich political commentary that could give the film so much more depth, but it's completely absent. Where the 1968 version had some of the apes overcoming their prejudice about humans and acknowledging that Charlton Heston was intelligent, the 2001 version had lots and lots of battles. As it stands, the film operates solely on the surface of things -- it's pretty to look at, but there's no substance. And audiences deserve more than that.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
