In 1968 the ape planet was a sunny, salubrious, even Edenic place. Now it is as dark and drear as the conventions of dystopian science fiction demand. Back then the argument between its simian rulers and their human slaves was largely theological. Now the apes are just fascists with a not-so-well-motivated mean streak.
In terms of visual swagger, it would be perfectly possible to prefer director Tim Burton's smart-looking new version of Planet of the Apes to Franklin J. Schaffner's less populous, less intensely designed original. Certainly the art of ape prosthesis has proceeded apace. So has the technology of...
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