Review of Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) by Graham B — 14 Jul 2014

The fifth and fortunately last of the original 'Apes' films.

Since Conquest, humanity has destroyed itself in a nuclear apocalypse and Caesar has established a city of apes with the remaining human survivors as second class citizens. After a reconnaissance mission into the nearby forbidden city to seek out recordings of his murdered parents, he attracts the attention of mutant humans who are dwelling in the underground radiated city.

The humans follow the apes back to their home and declare to level it killing everyone. Caesar must lead a climatic battle to defend their home against the mutants humans and also against the threat of the war mongering gorillas led by General Aldo, who seeks to rule Ape City for himself.

Clearly the storyline barrel has been dredged and there is not much to see here. The poor script and micro budget make it look like what it ultimately is. A feature length pilot for the subsequent TV series. I'm not sure what else the story could have done, but as Beneath and Conquest were unusually good sequels it would have been good to finish on a high note. Alas not the case.