Review of Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) by Ryan V — 11 Jul 2014

The budget for the series hits a low, and it shows at times. But it is nice to see a return to the post-apocalyptic setting. As far as fifth films go for a series, it still does a respectable job. And as usual, Roddy McDowall is in good form.

John Huston plays the previously only mentioned Lawgiver, Natalie Trundy returns as Caesar's mate, and Severn Darden chews the scenery as a mutated human bad guy. The movie toys with the interesting concept of whether or not the future that Caesar's parents came from can be altered or not.

This Apes outing also has the distinction of being the only one in the series to end on somewhat of a hopeful note. This one gets a bad wrap from most critics and audiences, which is a shame. It's a pretty good end to the Apes series proper.

And it's head and shoulders above what Tim Burton had in mind for the early 2000s Planet of the Apes.