Fox Putting Its Stinking Paws Back On Those Damn Dirty Apes?

There's a great and estimably more thorough article on this at CHUD, but we'll boil it down for you and if you're interested in reading more about it, head on over. Here's the deal: We may get another Planet of the Apes movie.It won't be another remake of the original. Most people hated, hated, hated the Tim Burton version, at least in comparison with the 1968 classic. As remakes go, it simply didn't preserve any of the magic that made the first one a classic. It was bloated, way too serious, and in every artistic way, a disappointment.But before you dismiss what Fox is working on now, you need to check out 1972's Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. Of the four follow-ups, all of which were released within five years of the first film, I think Conquest has the best storyline. It goes back to how the apes came to power in the first place, beginning with Caesar, an ape that could talk and reason like a man. There are some great riot scenes, and though the film is never as good as it wants to be, it's the only other necessary one in the series.What Fox is said to be mulling over is something called Genesis: Apes, and that title would be better off including "Planet of the," don't you think? There have been some changes, courtesy of writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, but I think they will help make the film more relevant. Caesar is "the result of a genetic scientist fooling around with the nature of things" in the new version, or that's what CHUD says. So that brings up the morality of playing with stem cell research and all the rest, especially given the global consequences in this fictional case.Even though Caesar is the villain in the overall scheme, he does have heroic traits. He wants to free his fellow apes from the tyrannical rule of the humans (which leads us nicely into a discussion on animal rights), but his methods are pretty aggressive.Again, Conquest is probably the second-best Apes movie in terms of where it's taking the story. But because it was the fourth movie in a serious beset by diminishing returns and interest, the finished product isn't nearly as good as it should be.So I'm kind of interested to see if Genesis can give us the definitive version of this chapter we've needed for 35 years. CHUD wonders if Fox will ever have the guts to make this, but I think the decision is simple: Fix the franchise.

Comments

[Chompa]

I'm totally for this. I didn't care for the Tim Burton flick (don't get me started on Burton - he's not my cup of tea.), but I'm a HUGE fan of the Planet of the Apes. In fact, I'd say the old TV series is still one of my all time favorites. I'd rather see a remake of Escape before Conquest, but I'm just happy they are still working on these.

[Borgia]

CHUD didn't break this news. ProdductionWeekly.com reported it back in August--it's just that people didn't pick up the news until CHUD ran their report this week.