From: (No Email available)

Date: 2001-08-11 13:48:30

Comment:

I read the article proposing an understanding of the film's conclusion but I'm 50/50 in its viability.  I guess as viewers we HAVE to make sense of what we were watching for almost 2 hours.  I tend to not worry so much about 'how' a film works but rather 'what' is its message.  My personal thought on the ending was that the storm Leo and Pericles flew into was really a tempoal storm, kind of like a nexus of wormholes all swirling together.  I think Leo himself travelled to another parallel timeline and space where apes ruled throughout history on earth.  If you try and use his chronometer readings as a basis you'll just keep getting confused.  High-tech electronics and 'exotic' electromagnetic phenomena just don't mix!  How could you really trust those numbers after his systems were fried like chicken and he (Leo) went into the storm right after Pericles?!  It was noble of Leo to try and get back home by flying back into the storm but really, how could he succeed by doing that?  The storm scambles your origin point (where you came from) which is your reference to where you want to go (say, earth)and the chances of finding the exact point and the exact time where a craft or person entered and exited the storm has got to be like 10 million to one!

The other observation I noticed was the Thade Memorial in D.C.  I don't think that's the same earth Leo left by a long shot specifically because of the Thade statue.  In the final fight scene where the humans faced off against their 'ape' oppressors, Thade was eventually trapped inside the carcass of what appeared to be the space station where Leo lauched from in the opening scenes.  Thade attempted to appeal to Athar (his right hand 'silverback' gorilla) to help him escape.  Athar refused because Thade had injured Semos and made a mockery of their pseudo-religion or legend and in Athar's words,"...betrayed our people!"  If that's the case, why would Athar return to the ape population and praise Thade and allow him to go down in some portion of history as a great savior?  I figure Athar would say good riddance and die like the scum you are and take personal satisfaction that a self-serving chimp such as Thade was forgotten.

ebell74@home.com