‘Planet of the Apes’ monkeys around too much

In theaters

PLANET OF THE APES. Directed by Tim Burton, written by William Broyles Jr., Lawrence Konner and Mark D. Rosenthal. Based on the novel by Pierre Boulle. 125 minutes. Rated PG-13.

“Planet of the Apes” is the first Tim Burton movie since 1985’s “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” that doesn’t look or feel like a Tim Burton movie. It could have been directed by anyone – and that right there is one of the main reasons it disappoints.

But not the only reason. There’s also the small matter of the script, which sometimes is so clunky and features an ending that’s such a cheat, one wonders if its writers have opposable thumbs.

The film is hardly a bust – the first 45 minutes are rousing, the pop culture references can be fun, some of the performances are good, and Rick Baker’s monkey makeup will be nominated for an Academy Award. But with the exception of the film’s gorgeously conceived opening credits, which remind audiences they’re dealing with a gifted, visionary director whose talent is undeniable, the film has little of the distinctive style that made Burton’s best movies so original, inventive and alive.

Loosely based on Pierre Boulle’s novel and, more famously, on Franklin Schaffner’s 1968 pulp film, Burton’s “Planet of the Apes” is a big movie for sure, but one that struggles to contain its ideas and its themes.

What it never shakes is the sense that it’s reaching for more than it can grasp. The film is at once a satire and a parody, a romance and an action film. It mirrors the original in that it tries to offer a dark social commentary on the state of race relations, but the film’s focus is so broad that comment, however relevant it still is, is lost amidst the confusion.

In the film, it’s the year 2029 and American astronaut Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg, flatly taking the reins from Charlton Heston, who appears in a cameo that neatly revolves around death and guns), is fighting for his life after his ship slams into a planet ruled by human-hating apes.

With the help of Ari (Helena Bonham Carter), a liberal ape who has a crush on Leo that borders on bestiality, Leo rises up against the evil Gen. Thade (Tim Roth) and his snarling band of henchapes, including the giant Attar (Michael Clarke Duncan), in an attempt to get off the planet and back to Earth.

As the war between the humans and the apes escalates into a showdown that can only be described as “Braveheart” meets “Mad Max” on all fours, Burton and his screenwriters, William Broyles Jr., Lawrence Konner and Mark D. Rosenthal, toss in a wealth of other pop culture references, including nods to “The Fly,” “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “The Wizard of Oz,” the Broadway show “Cats,” and, most notably, to Schaffner’s opus and the four sequels and two television series it spawned.

As different as Burton and Schaffner’s films are – Burton himself calls his movie a “reimagining” of the original – there’s still too much monkey see, monkey do going on here to suit. It’s as if Burton himself can’t escape from “Planet of the Apes.”

Some will argue that the fun Burton pokes at the first film is what makes this film so entertaining – and they’d be right. But it’s also what keeps the director from creating his own vision – and thus delivering a film that’s distinctly, wonderfully his own.

Grade: C-

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays in Style, Thursdays in the scene, Tuesdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5” and Thursdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5:30” on WLBZ-2 and WCSH-6. He can be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.