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Despite once being open to all manner of sequels spin offs, Planet of the Apes was always unlikely to welcome director Tim Burton.

By daring to revisit this now sacred shrine, Burton has opened himself up to the most intense and often unfounded criticism as Ape activists lambast the film for sullying the vision of the original. Cult films are a territory where only the brave dare walk and Burton, for better or for worse, is one of the bravest directors currently living in the mainstream Hollywood jungle.

Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes is not a bad film; it's style is such that always amazes and often amuses. No. This latest take on the twist in the evolutionary process just seems to fall short of delivering the underlying message given in Pierre Boulle's novel and it does so in a typical Burton manner - coherence. Once more, the director of such visual and atmospheric wonders as Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood and Sleepy Hollow, seems to lose interest in plot and character. Attention is given almost entirely to the incredible new reality which the film creates and as a result the pacing occasionally jarrs in order to present the necessary evils of story.

It's a frustrating habit of Burton's and Planet of the Apes suffers because of it. Although filled with performances which do the roles justice, we are rarely compensated for this failing. True, Tim Roth as General Thaid, delivers a brilliant piece of cinema and shows himself capable of serious presence on screen. Yet the others simply cannot match up given the script (though there is no doubt all are exceptionally capable). Wahlberg is self assured and fills his role well though it is clear he is looking to expand his character more than the director has allowed for. Michael Clarke-Duncan (Green Mile) also brings his usual overwhelming persona, accentuated by incredible makeup which will be a sure bet come Oscar time. So too do Kris Kristofferson and comic relief actor Paul Giamatti. Only Helena Bonham Carter seems slightly out of sync and below par as she struggles to balance her ape characteristics with the human link inherent in her character.

In the end Planet of the Apes is a good film. Not a great film and not likely to show up in university courses on sociology but it is deeply entertaining and worth going to see if only to catch the irony in Charlton Heston's speech about humanity's gun related cruelty.