10 Remakes That Should Never Have Happened
5. Planet Of The Apes (2001)
Tim Burton is a strange man, and most studios know that. He likes making weird films about weird things, like a singing serial killer working part-time as a barber, or a man with scissors for hands.
When he was given a chance to remake the Planet Of The Apes, Burton got straight on the phone with a man that could provide him with several viking longboats, a pickaxe, and some purple paint. He didn't really, but this is Tim Burton.
Remembering that they had just employed the man who almost made Nicholas Cage Superman, 20th Century Fox actively prevented Burton from adding anything really weird into the remake. In fact, they just handed him a hacked-up script of the 1968 film and told him to stick to it, making the reboot both unimaginative and poorly scripted.
The original Planet Of The Apes boasted a compelling story and characters, dark humour, and Charlton Heston shouting at an unclean monkey. It was also technically impressive, winning an Academy Award for its make-up work, but Heston steals the show, screaming those immortal words on the beach when he realises the apes had destroyed humanity.
Like its predecessor, the make-up teamed earned praise, but this was overshadowed by Tim Burton blowing a hole in the end of the film and confusing everyone in the process, presumably because he couldn't have his purple paint. Even the cast couldn't work out ending, with Tim Roth stating: "I cannot explain that ending. I have seen it twice and I don't understand anything."