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Parents' Guide to

Planet of the Apes

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Remake has intense peril, lots of violence and death.

Movie PG-13 2001 119 minutes
Planet of the Apes Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 12+

Based on 5 parent reviews

age 11+

I enjoyed it More than my kids did

My kids were unsettled by the threatening images of aggressive Apes but they stayed invested and enjoyed the movie. I would’ve rated higher but my kids felt the ending was disappointing. I enjoyed the movie more than my kids did because I knew the context of the previous versions in this franchise whereas they were unaware of the significance that the (Ape) franchise has in the science fiction/fantasy genre.
age 11+

A fun ride.

Not as amazing as the original, but a fun ride, and more enjoyable than the gritty “modern” reboots.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5 ):
Kids say (12 ):

This is less a remake than a re-imagining of the classic staring Charlton Heston. This version has no loincloth and no Statue of Liberty, and no Roddy McDowell, but Heston does show up for a surprisingly effective cameo -- as one of the apes. As in all of Tim Burton's movies, the art direction in Planet of the Apes is intricate, meticulous, and strangely beautiful. Every detail is a work of art, from the texture of the ape armor to the outline of the spaceship.

Wahlberg makes an appealing, all-American hero, though he is not up to the task of delivering a brief pep talk to the assembled humans. But he is fine in the action scenes and he handles the challenge of kissing females of two different species with reasonable finesse. Overall, the simian performers are better and more believable than the humans. Bonham Carter makes a remarkably fetching ape, using her eyes and body language to deliver a real performance. Roth is a seething presence as the bad guy, Michael Clarke Duncan gives physical and emotional weight to the role of the loyal officer, and Paul Giamatti is hilarious as a slave trader held hostage.

Movie Details

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