Battle For The Planet Of The Apes (1973)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jeff "

  
  Battle For The Planet of The Apes is I think the worst film of the series. I didn't enjoy it as much as the other films and I felt it was a waste. The film could have been so much better than this, but instead this film is a mediocre conclusion to a great Sci-Fi series. The story… More
  Battle For The Planet of The Apes is I think the worst film of the series. I didn't enjoy it as much as the other films and I felt it was a waste. The film could have been so much better than this, but instead this film is a mediocre conclusion to a great Sci-Fi series. The story was poorly crafted, and really not as interesting, engaging and thrilling as the previous entries in the franchise. The actors looked bored in this film, and personally I think the previous film would've made a fine conclusion to the series. However they needed to make a bit more money and they created this disappointing final entry in the series. This film could have been great, and the series could have ended on a high note, but with films like this you realize that the filmmakers are just making a film for the sake of making a film no matter how bad the story is. The film had an interesting idea, but suffered from poor development and it's as if the screenwriters weren't that interested in creating a terrific final chapter in the Apes franchise. This final entry leaves you wanting more, leaves you wanting a better crafted film. This film is a real disappointment and it doesn't satisfy like the previous entries before it. This is a sloppy final to a great series and fans of the series had to wait till Rise of the Planet of the Apes released in 2011 to get yet another phenomenally excellent Apes film. This one isn't great; it's mediocre at best and doesn't entertain like the previous entries in the series.

• David L

  
  The Lawgiver tells the children of the future a tale of the planet earth and the influence of two apes who went back in time and had a son Caesar. Caesar liberated the apes on earth and brought mankind and apekind together after the war. However an exploration into the ruined cities… More
  The Lawgiver tells the children of the future a tale of the planet earth and the influence of two apes who went back in time and had a son Caesar. Caesar liberated the apes on earth and brought mankind and apekind together after the war. However an exploration into the ruined cities brings the apes into conflict with the mutants and the humans get trapped in the middle. The final of the films is the real low point of the series but its hard to blame the film makers, the budget was at a all time low here and the studio wanted a more lite family film here. The plot lacks the dark undertones and fatalism of the other films and an attempt to `get deep' at the end doesn't do it alone. The basic plot is a war between the mutants and the gorillas with the peaceful chimps and loving humans in-between. The action is average at best and the dialogue leaves no room for subtexts. Worse still is the makeup which has declined far away from the standard set in the original. Here the actors clearly wear rubbery masks - General Aldo being the worst by miles! The mouths barely move and certainly don't move in time with the words. It's a shame but it does show how the standards of the first two films had fallen so far by this stage. The cast are OK but the majority are trapped behind unhelpful masks. Even John Huston looks trapped behind a mask that almost totally renders him unrecognisable and unemotive. McDowall continues his monkey madness with yet another role and he's actually quite good. The human roles are the best as they are free to talk and the mutant leader (Eastham) even manages to get a few funny lines out before all the fighting kicks off. Overall the quality of the makeup reflects the effort put into the film. The makeup is shoddy and the plot and subtexts are back of matchbox stuff. There are a few nice touches and it tries to add insight in the last 10 minutes but by then it's all a bit late......mind you it's still better than the remake of the original.

• Aaron N

  
  Virgil: Teacher only reverted to type under provocation. He... he spoke like a slavemaster in the old days of our servitude when we were conditioned to mechanical obedience. He, uh, he uttered a negative, uh, imperative. Caesar: Could you put that into words which even Caesar could… More
  Virgil: Teacher only reverted to type under provocation. He... he spoke like a slavemaster in the old days of our servitude when we were conditioned to mechanical obedience. He, uh, he uttered a negative, uh, imperative. Caesar: Could you put that into words which even Caesar could understand? Virgil: Uh, he said, "No, Aldo, no!"

• Everett J

  
  This is the worst of the "Apes" movies. No wonder it would be nearly 30 years before another theatrical movie. This is the story of Caesar battling another ape Aldo, and an incoming threat of humans. The movie is boring, the action is laughable, and story is incoherent.… More
  This is the worst of the "Apes" movies. No wonder it would be nearly 30 years before another theatrical movie. This is the story of Caesar battling another ape Aldo, and an incoming threat of humans. The movie is boring, the action is laughable, and story is incoherent. It's a shame to, because the one before it, "Conquer" was in my opinion the best of the sequels. You think they would build off of that and pick up where it left off. This jumps quite a few years and really drops the ball for a solid film franchise. Just forget this installment exists, as it really isn't needed at all.

• Conner R

  
  So many people make this out to be a disaster while in actuality it's really good. You have to have a love for the series to see this, otherwise you'll be lost. It goes into the mythology of the characters and history like with Conquest. While these last three installments… More
  So many people make this out to be a disaster while in actuality it's really good. You have to have a love for the series to see this, otherwise you'll be lost. It goes into the mythology of the characters and history like with Conquest. While these last three installments are often considered prequels, it's completely untrue. The whole point of the last movies was to change the future and prevent the destruction of ape/mankind.This delivers on a good conclusion to that ray of hope, finally bringing peace between ape and man. I like that the series starts off dark and then changes pace and becomes about preservation and equality. This features a lot of great sets, characters and crazy 70s action scenes. It's not for everyone, but I feel that it delivers.

• Anthony L

  
  Battle was a real disappointment. I think the fact that it had been built up quite a lot within the series let it down. Roddy McDowall was always entertaining to watch though, worth seeing just for his performance.

• Michael G

  
  Battle For the Planet of the Apes was a lot better than I was expecting as any other installment in the series aside from the original was just tired and for the most part pointless. Paul Williams was pretty entertaining here and Caesar's son Cornelius was just creepy. I liked… More
  Battle For the Planet of the Apes was a lot better than I was expecting as any other installment in the series aside from the original was just tired and for the most part pointless. Paul Williams was pretty entertaining here and Caesar's son Cornelius was just creepy. I liked how the movie had a clean break for the end for the series almost guaranteeing there wouldn't be any more of these forced installments with sloppy battle scenes at the end.

• Lafe F

  
  The future of Humans and Apes is here... very small scale primal struggle. It's slow and contemplative.

• xGary X

  
  The seminal sci-fi classic spawned a series of increasingly duff sequels, and this is the last and worst. The script could've been written by a 14 year old boy; all ham-fisted analogies and running around with guns. Stupid and pointless.

• Dann M

  
  The series come full circle in Battle For the Planet of the Apes. In the wake of nuclear annihilation Caesar sets up a new ape society, but it's soon threatened by war when human survivors from the fallout discover his ape city. Several Ape series veteran actors return,… More
  The series come full circle in Battle For the Planet of the Apes. In the wake of nuclear annihilation Caesar sets up a new ape society, but it's soon threatened by war when human survivors from the fallout discover his ape city. Several Ape series veteran actors return, including Roddy McDowall, and John Huston makes a featured appearance. Once again the series returns to themes of predestination, human nature, and prejudice. The film finds a nice balance of drama and action in which to tell this tale, and still maintains some ambiguity and mystery. Battle For the Planet of the Apes is a challenging science-fiction drama that has a lot of solid action.

• Christopher J

  
  Rating : ★★ I really wanted to like this final edition to the series, but ultimately it's poorly done with a poor plot structure with a heavy B-Movie feel and it just seems to leave many plot holes and inconsistencies with the series which only makes it… More
  Rating : ★★ I really wanted to like this final edition to the series, but ultimately it's poorly done with a poor plot structure with a heavy B-Movie feel and it just seems to leave many plot holes and inconsistencies with the series which only makes it worse considering this is canon to the original apes series. A decade after the Ape revolution and the war which has destroyed much of the planet and a Nuclear fallout, Caesar leads a small community of Apes and humans. While he tries to maintain a delicate peace between the two species, a threat builds from the still vengeful humans who inhabit the wrecked city's contaminated underground. At the same time the Gorilla's decide to begin an uprising within the Ape community itself. While the plot sounds all good it just isn't executed well and the film just doesn't seem to have much going on in it. I can honestly say that the battle in previous film felt bigger than the one in this one too. The one in this film is merely a skirmish which is a shame considering the title makes it out to be the biggest one to date. Some of the films plots have high potential but are just handled all wrong such as the revolution of the Gorilla's in Ape City. In the end the entire idea is shunned to the side in order for the battle to commence with the humans but is then drawn back in towards the end only to be shot down almost instantaneously. There all also many plot holes. First of all in the history it is stated that Aldo was the Ape that said No but there is no indication in this film of him ever doing so, only getting angry when the human tells him no. Secondly when do the humans become mute? We are aware that Nuclear fall out has happened but they still have speech and when we flash forward to the year 2670 the year to be believed that the laws were set down the humans still have speech so when did it happen or did the script writers forget? Third when did the humans become inferior (ties in with the previous point) and finally the main point, HOW in such a short space of time did all the Apes gain superior intelligence and learn full English speech. This point is almost hardly explained and quite annoying for that fact. On the other hand some things work nicely for continuity such as the explanation for the worshipping of the Omega bomb seen in Beneath (this is about the only film that Battle seems connected with). This film was not terrible. The action scenes towards the end were pretty good and some of the conversations between the apes were interesting. But ultimately it is a let down due to poor script that gives a painfully incomplete closure to the Apes series. The performances are well done but the script makes it feels like an unjustified cash cow that if more time was spent on editing the script could have gave a solid closure to the series to build on the previous two instalments in the franchise. Well at least the mutants were not psychic in this film.

• Cameron J

  
  "Battle" for the Planet of the Apes? Man, there's no battle about it, because they're "super intellegent, humanized gorillas", and they can have whatever they want as far as I'm concerned. I might go up against King Kong when he's just a big… More
  "Battle" for the Planet of the Apes? Man, there's no battle about it, because they're "super intellegent, humanized gorillas", and they can have whatever they want as far as I'm concerned. I might go up against King Kong when he's just a big dumb lovestruck ape, but around the time he's smart enough to start flying the planes himself, I give up. Yes, I know that the guy who played Kong in the 1976 version was a pilot in the 2005 version, but I credit the guy who did the voice, Peter Cullen, because - come on - what self-respecting geek does not think of that film as the golden moment where Optimus Prime played King Kong? That's almost as awesome as Gollum from "Lord of the Rings" playing King Kong-oh, wait. You know, maybe I'm not so much worried about super intellegent, humanized gorillas taking over, as much as I'm worried about robots in disguise taking over. Seriously, you put a cap and moustache on a laptop, and it turns into that withdrawal scene in "Trainspotting" with me, but before that dark day, I'm going to have to settle with what are obviously people in disguise, which is horrifying enough as it is without them going up against mutants... if you would call some radioactive burns that have somehow not worsened in over a decade a mutatation. Now, I know that the premise sounds cool and compelling, but I hate to break it to you that, unfortunately... the film is cool and compelling. Oh wait, you were hoping that it would be cool and exciting. Well, prepare to be satisfied, but only for so long, because for every bit of pure entertainment value, there is slowness to the point of disconnect that will follow, partially because director J. Lee Thompson will often drag out some scenes that really don't need to be dragged out, especially when there are so many elements in what development there is that needs to be dwelled upon more. Now, it's not totally out of the question to suspend disblief, but there are some holes in this film's science, from an entire society of apes already learning to speak fluent English, to - as I said earlier - surprisingly little radioactive effect on the humans after the nuke hit. Well, for all we know, it was the least nuclear nuke in the history of bombs, but we'll never really know, because they barely touch upon that significant piece of story development. Now, I'm not saying that I want to see them simulate a nuke impact with the filmmaking sensibilities of 1973, because there is no way to make that look good, even for the time, but please give us some sense of the situtation so that the film will feel more developed. The final stages of this classic saga raises more questions than answers, but there's no denying that this is a genuinely enjoyable and, to an extent, satisfying capper to the original series. The satisfaction that can be found here is highly debatable, but there's no denying that this series goes out in a blaze of glory, because what J. Lee Thompson lacks in storytelling - in terms of engagement -, he makes up for in action, making every action sequence heavy and captivating. Granted, much of what makes the action engaging might be the overloud sound design all throughout it, but eitherway, the action is exciting and well done, especially in the final act of the film, where the film really delivers on making this grand war sequence really hit home. Still, this film isn't all big dumb action, for although you are faced with many questions that you shouldn't have to ask, the closer of the film leaves you wondering what - if anything - has changed, and ultimately questioning whether this is the road to a new future, or the other end of this eternal loop that will spin forever. It's a fascinating final message, but that's not to say that the film doesn't pick up until the end. True, there are many unengaging spots, but that's something to be said about any "Planet of the Apes" film, and like its predecessors, this film knows how to quickly put itself back together, partially thanks to the performances, especially that of our lead. Roddie McDowall (Yes, I finally remembered the "a" in his last name) has left his mark in this series as the absolute best performer, no matter what (because lord knows Heston wasn't going to claim that position), and this film is no different. Here, McDowall takes on the often challenging "struggling leader" role, and doing it pretty darn well, establishing a strong tone of authority, but still exposing some "humanity" in the Caesar character to really play on the layers and pains of our lead to once again carry the film and pull you right back in, should you fall out. As war dies down, we arrive at the end of this saga after going through the recurring flaws of periodic lulls in engagement, as well as a lack of story development and far-fetched science, but our final destination is a satisfying, rather thought-provoking one, which isn't to say that the road wasn't still paved with excellent action and a typically strong performance by Roddy McDowall, thus leaving "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" to stand as a generally enjoyable closer to the classic series. 2.5/5 - Fair

• Marcus W

  
  Alright, the apes are good. Gorillas are warmongers. There are good humans who live with the apes, and bad humans who live in a ruined city and literally just decide to attack the apes. THERE'S A BIG BATTLE and it has lots of Shakespearean undertones. And thus the saga ends.

• Barry L

  
  Brilliant if a little left wing.

Read all 14 featured audience ratings