Critic reverses himself on “Apes”

In a virtually unheard-of about-face, a major motion picture critic has written a new review of Planet of the Apes, criticizing his original review which acclaimed it. “What was I thinking?” Toronto Star critic Geoff Pevere writes in today’s edition, referring to his original four-star rating for the movie. While watching the film a second time with his teenage daughter, he says, he began experiencing regret. “Like [Mark] Wahlberg‘s space jockey, I started wishing that I, too could slip through a convenient time warp … and knock my review down a star or so.” Pevere goes on to write that his “revisionist viewing” had reminded him “of the rushed judgment this job entails. … Opportunities to reflect and ruminate, processes which are elementary to good criticism, are rare as white buffalo.” Finally, Pevere concludes, “I guess this is my way of saying sorry. I was wrong. Planet of the Apes isn’t as good a movie as I first told you it was. … And if this leaves you wondering how skeptical you should be of any reviews you read produced under the conditions I’ve outlined … then at least some good has come of my momentary slip in judgment.”