As well as the older audience the new film would want to appeal to a new generation of teenagers.
For male teenagers they have reason to go see the film in the promise of action and special effects. The casting of Mark Wahlberg as the lead male appeals to male teenagers due to the hero worship towards his tough guy image. There is also the added attraction of the “token” gorgeous female in the shape of Estella Warren. Estella’s picture appears on the poster, but her name does not. This is for two reasons; firstly, she has not yet established herself as a big name actress; secondly, most guys are not interested in a woman’s name just as long as she looks good.
The inclusion of Mark Wahlberg in the film appeals to women and homosexual males who may know him better as “Marky Mark” or the crotch-grabbing model from the Calvin Klein ads of the 80’s and90’s.
One of the posters most striking images is that of Attar – the gorilla at the front of the poster, wearing full body armour, astride a horse also well armoured. The look upon the face of Attar is fearless, determined and unsympathetic. This could be a statement on the way in which the world’s military operates.
The only humans to appear on the poster are Mark Wahlberg and Estella Warren, who are not true representations of a typical looking human. He is masculine; well – built and good looking. She is feminine; slender and beautiful.
Tim Burton, some might say, has fallen into that Hollywood mainstream trap of going for looks rather than acting ability. Maybe, in fact he has done the reverse; in some way mocking traditional Hollywood by saying, “come the end of the world at least the pretty people will survive”.
Although Tim Burton’s re-imagining is focused on “making the movie more existential, bizarre, entertaining and fun than the original” (William Broyles Jnr – Scriptwriter) it still tackles many of the philosophical questions that the original posed.
Throughout the film there is an underlying theme that says that those who are oppressed, weak and down trodden should fight and strive for better lives, no matter what their differences ultimately may be.
The film also poses important scientific and philosophical questions concerning the origins of life; the nature of our existence; and challenges the fundamentalists’ ideas on evolution. Rather than offer any cast iron answers to the questions posed, the film serves to keep the viewer pondering long after the film has finished.
The films tag line “ Rule the World” is ambiguous as to which species will eventually rule. This is a devise in luring audiences to see the film. With them wondering if in it’s re-imagining, the outcome of the film is as the original
Tim Roth (plays "Thade" in the film) has said this of this version of the film:
“Planet of the Apes offers a jittery catalogue of millennial anxieties, from the hazards of genetic engineering and the corrupting influence of technology to ecological catastrophe and weapons of mass destruction”
Sources – empire magazine September 2001 issue 147
- Sight and sound magazine September 2001
