MovieChat Forums > Planet of the Apes (2001) Discussion > The 'shock' that the planet is Earth

The 'shock' that the planet is Earth

posted 14 years ago by karen_stockdale
31 replies | jump to latest

A point to consider.....

I watched the original movie with Charleton Heston and then the 2001 version over the weekend - one on TV the other on a borrowed DVD. Leaving aside the very confusing ending to the second film - how can he go back in time and discover an Abraham Lincoln-like statue honouring an ape who he had just put into a trap 2000 years in the future? - the thing that amused me in both films was the look of surprise on the faces of both Heston (especially) and Wahlberg when they discover that this strange planet that they had landed on was Earth.

When you consider the incredibly wide range of physical conditions that exist on Earth, let alone the Solar System, the range that must exist in the Universe is beyond my imagination. So if I, as an astronaut well aware of the wide diversity of conditions that exist, landed on a planet with EXACTLY THE SAME atmosphere, gravity, distance to the nearest star (as shown by the size of the 'Sun' in the sky), ambient temperature and vegetation as the Earth I would do a rough estimation of the chances of there being TWO planets in the Universe with exactly the same conditions. I would conclude from my calculations that this chance was so low that the most logical explanation was that I had arrived back on Earth - albeit an Earth that I did not recognise, for some reason.

However, I think that the main clinching argument that would lead me to realise that I was back on Earth instead of on an alternative planet would be the presence of individuals (albeit apes) speaking English with American accents. The likelihood of English evolving on a distance planet is somewhat low!!!

So, taking these points into account - it would have been much more of a shock if the planet had NOT turned out to be Earth!

Karen

Happiness isn't happiness without a violin-playing goat.

[–] zorrofilms 11 years ago

Karen,

You're not wrong, you're just an a--

Not, I mean you are pretty much correct. The average astronaut has only been in space right? Not landed on other planets? From these films' perspectives yes. So they would be well aware of the similarities of the planet they were on and that of their home world.

However. If you have watched The Cosmos or have a background in physics or astronomy, the processes that occur in our solar system and also the matter and elements that reside throughout them and their planets are roughly the same. We are all from the same stardust. The processes of planetary and solar creation our galaxy and others are bound by the same laws, although can be drastically different for example binary star systems. So time is the main factor, but manly ecosystems on earth could probably be similar to alien worlds that we have not yet discovered. The evolution of our terrestrial planet with its magma, ice, water, and fertile atmosphere might not be as uncommon as we would like to think. We are looking for evidence as we speak on Mars as to it being an older earth, one that would of resembled us a billion+ years ago, as there is evidence of erosion and bodies of water.

In other words, I could understand the confusion by the characters, since time must effect Earth the same way if effects other planets.

So assuming the planet you were on wasn't Earth, since it looked completely different from the Earth you knew in your lifetime and you were not aware of the severe time-dilation, is plausible.

[–] ithais22 11 years ago

The ending really demands some explanation, and they could make it much less confusing very easily by replacing Abe's head with that of an ape without stating that this particular ape is Thade.

"I can change almost anything... but I can't change human nature." -Dr. Manhattan

[–] Soodinum 11 years ago

Unless there was hope in a sequel that would explain how that came about, that was ditched because of poor ratings.

[–] TheChamCham 10 years ago

You just saved the film (at least for me) in two sentences. It would have been far more believable that some other ape could have accomplished the task, but NOT Thade.

"Life is uncertain, eat dessert first!" -HOMER J.SIMPSON

[–] hnt_dnl 9 years ago

The Wahlberg ending was simply a shocked reaction to what he was seeing, a planet ruled by intelligent apes. When you think about it, the Wahlberg ending is essentially the same roughly before the midway point of the Heston film where they first discover that apes rule the planet. Wahlerg isn't even sure where he is and hasn't had enough time to react. Heston had been on his planet for a relatively long enough time where he could have figured out earlier it was Earth.

[–] sage2112 8 years ago

Well markie mark wasn't on earth like they were in the original.

In the original, they were so far from earth that there's no way they would've considered they were there. A rocky planet like earth probably isn't so uncommon, and they even mentioned that the sun (star) might be Bellatrix. The English speaking apes probably just had them thinking somehow apes had evolved over time back on earth and had gotten to this planet the same way the humans had.