A lot of movie viewers get excited for a new Star Wars or Star Trek movie, I get excited for a new Planet of the Apes story.
The original movie premiered in 1968. We were in Iceland then, and didn't see it that I remember. I think I finally saw it when it premiered on TV in the seventies after we'd moved back stateside.
One of our local channels, KPTV 12, used to have Planet of the Apes marathons and we'd be glued to the TV. I think that may have been the only Sci-fi my parents actually watched.
In the summer, we'd play Planet of the Apes in the cherry trees and in the rafters of the houses being built in the dirt hills--what we called the development that replaced a filbert grove behind us.
When Tim Burton rebooted the series with Mark Wahlberg, I was excited to see it come back. And every incarnation since--even though on the surface, unrelated to Tim Burton's imagining--I have loved.Tuesday night, I saw the most recent one--War for the Planet of the Apes. And it was epic.
It had subtle nods to the original stories and finally explained how humans became mute and the apes rose to power. Andy Serkis is amazing--again--as Caesar. When isn't he amazing? Steve Zahn as Bad Ape is wonderful.
I've often considered what is epic story building. And I think it's when you can imagine more stories from the original story--like Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter... and Planet of the Apes. I know there are a myriad of epics out there that I'm not mentioning and I'm sorry about the exclusion.
When it comes to the battle between Stars, I've always leaned more toward being a Trekker. The stories are endless and more universal. I've watched most of the series faithfully--except Enterprise, I never got into that one. And I think of stories that haven't been told yet, like why haven't they ever done a Starfleet Academy series??? Lost opportunity right there.
And Harry Potter? I adore the magical world created by J.K.Rowling. My daughters and I went to midnight book and movies releases. I was younger then. Now, I'd probably say, "We'll see it tomorrow."
But, in the end, my heart belongs to the Apes. And well, the Tenctonese from Alien Nation, but that's another blog.
I don't care for the apes, but I will never forget that one scene when it showed the Statue of Liberty lying down. My heart broke.
ReplyDeleteI remember my mom gasping at that shot. Lol
DeleteI think I have seen one or two of the original sequels, but I LOVED the first one. I'll admit that, like the originals, I've really only seen the first of the new ones... an interesting twist and the "ape makeup" is so much better!
ReplyDeleteThis one is incredible!
DeleteI am not an Apes fan either, I'm thinking it might be generational, but I'm not sure. I just never got into it. But Star Wars for sure--I cried my heart out when Han was killed in the last episode...
ReplyDeleteMy favorite newer SW movie was Rogue One. Loved that one--I think because it was more of an original story. But, I was heart broken when Han died as well, even though I was pretty sure he was toast once he stepped on that bridge.
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