"Planet of the Apes"

Tim Burton's re-envisionment of "Planet of the Apes" is a spectacle worth all of the hype.

Now, I have seen all of the previous "Planet of the Apes" movies, the first the 1968 original starring Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowall and the one thing I will not be doing is comparing the new with the old. There is no reason to, this is not a remake it is a different take.

Mark Wahlberg plays Captain Leo Davidson who gets thrown into a time warp and ends up on a planet ruled by apes. The main ape is General Thade played wonderfully by Tim Roth. It is easy to accept Roth as an ape because he gets so into his character that you forget he is just a man in a costume. Helena Bonham Carter also brings a realism to her role of Ari, she is the ape on the planet that feels humans should not be slaves.

As Davidson is captured and locked up in a cage with other humans, he can use all the help he can find to get out. Estella Warren who appeared earlier this summer in "Driven" plays the human love interest of Davidson. But there is a love triangle going on here with Ari thrown into the mix. You can feel the heat between Davidson and his ape love Ari, but there is nothing between Warren and Davidson.

The make-up, special effects, costume, and set design are spectacular and Burton is a wonder with visuals and telling a story.

Roth steals the show and the rest of the cast are impressive.

"Planet of the Apes" is a movie that will get better the more you watch it.

I really enjoyed the Ape experience and thought the ending was a jaw dropper.