The Future's bright. The Future's orangutan

What can I say? Is it just me?

I thought this film was really rather good! I'm a big fan of Tim Burton and the look of this film and the production values are terrific - you'll find yourself amazed that you can fancy the pants off Helena Bonham Carter in her monkey outfit - and when you compare the effects to the original you can see Hollywood has come an awful long way.

I thought it was well-plotted and well put-together, and I couldn't possibly imagine that there would be a twist at the end because of the incredible impact of the original but - no! - there is a twist and I think it's just as good - better actually - than the original. It makes you think back through the story to see how it actually would have been possible.

Tim Roth is tremendously scary as an agressive chimpanzee - you'll never be able to look at chimps as cuddly ever again - and the way the film deals with the apes as real, human-sized wild animals as opposed to the original gentrified people in ape costumes is a real plus for me.

Okay, the saved humans (Estelle Warren plays a beautiful, but completely wooden, prisoner) are mostly irrelevant and whilst the cameo from Charlton Heston is a nice nod to the original (and turns it on its head to boot) it is too reflective of a film trying too hard to pay homage to its predecessor...

... but, nevertheless, if you enjoyed the original and you want a decent night's entertainment, then this is a perfectly fine film. If you like Mark Wahlberg or Tim Roth or Tim Burton you'll doubly enjoy it.

It's not a remake, it is a reimagining, and all the better for it.