10 Worst Film Remakes Since 2000

2. Planet Of The Apes

Planet Of The Apes 2001 Ending.jpg
20th Century Fox

If you need convincing that blockbusters in the early 2000s were churned out for an audience of gurgling test subjects, look no further than Tim Burtons reimagining of Planet Of The Apes. Judging by the level of wit and creativity on display here, a reimagining means a rushed and pointless film that throws out the original in favour of a third-rate Twilight Zone episode.

The 1968 original is incredibly subversive, with characters arguing that religious dogma (read creationism) should not be substituted for scientific fact, but this movie is having none of that. Instead, Mark Wahlberg runs around, there are some special effects, and Charlton Heston turns up to say damn them all to hell (as will you).

So incredibly slipshod in its storytelling that neither Burton nor his cast could explain the plot, Apes 01 has the distinction of being the only movie in the franchise where nothing is satisfactorily explained, characters and plot points are introduced and discarded at random and the big reveal at the climax still leaves viewers scratching their heads.

Does Ape-raham Lincoln have a monument in his honour because he emancipated the apes? Or did he free the human slaves? If you expect answers from Burtons DVD commentary, youll be disappointed.

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Contributor

Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'