Review of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) by Mike S — 04 Oct 2009

The fourth movie in the Planet of the Apes series of the late 60s and early 70s. I hadn't realized until researching this that films 2, 3, and 4 (this one), were released in sequential years from 1970 to 1972.

That means this film was produced in about a year (most SF films take 3 years from pre-production to release), and I have to say, it shows. The overall plot isn't bad, but the production feels rushed.

The acting is haphazard; the editing tries to make up for minimal sets and what appear to be limited budgets for stunts and special effects (for example, we see a character go out a window from inside the rooom, then we see a few quick shots of office windows seen at night, spinning and sliding across the screen, to suggest the character's fall).

There are some continuity issues with the earlier films, but you can wave those away by assuming that history has been changed by preceding events. The anti-slavery message is overt, and Roddy McDowell has a decent speech near the end.

I've read the ending was made more audience-friendly at the request of the studio; knowing that, you can see some odd editing as some dialogue is added in that wasn't shot on set.