Review of Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) by Carl M — 01 Feb 2013

In the years following the ape revolt, the survivors of the great war have settled in the country, where man and ape live in harmony. To avoid the inevitable destruction of Earth, Caesar returns to the ravished streets of Los Angeles to recover a taped recording of his parents' doomed prophecy, when it is discovered that another group of militant mutants exists that look to exterminate the apes, even if it means unleashing the Alpha and Omega bomb! The BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES wages on in this fifth and final installment. Unfortunately, severe cost-cutting and poor planning make this a rather shoddy entry, and finds the new ape society living in ramshackle old tree houses with primitive defenses. There is nothing epic about this struggle, as the scaled-down battles can't consist of more than fifty men and apes. Roddy McDowall returns as Caesar, now a wise and benevolent ruler, and delivers another touching performance. Meanwhile, Claude Akins and Severn Darden ham it up as the two lead villains, with Akins playing the warmongering General Aldo and Darden as a campy Governor Kolp. The make-up work has fallen far from John Chamber's original designs. The mutant humans bear no scars to illustrate their condition, while the static ape masks hardly allow the actors to speak, let alone emote. BATTLE is nevertheless an entertaining chapter that serves as a satisfactory stopping point in the classic Sci-Fi series.

-Carl Manes.

I Like Horror Movies.