Dreadful

Rating: Null/10 (9 November 2004)

I saw this movie for the first time yesterday and I hated it. Rather than giving this a "one of the best films ever made" label, I would classify it as (noticeably) fairly early science fiction with a confusing plot (if that can truthfully be called a "plot"), an incredibly slow pace, and no characters worth caring about. When people praise a movie like this, I wince. From my perspective, this is like modern art that, to me at least, is not "art" if the definition of "art" is to create something beautiful. If the definition of "art" is to provoke or shock, well then, you can have it.
I thought that the length of time spent on the apes was ridiculous. The phone conversation between the man and his daughter was pointless. The fact that the people of the future looked like the people of the 1960s (when the film was made) showed a complete lack of creativity.
If I'm going to invest time and/or money in watching a film, I want it to entertain me or to educate me or to draw me in so tightly that I lose track of time and of my surroundings and am simply encompassed in the film. This movie had me watching the clock and wondering what the heck was going on, what the point was, and why this movie had received so much lavish praise. I guess the most poignant thing I can say is that I wouldn't want to date any of the people who find THIS the epitome of fine film-making.