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Roddy McDowall, Claude Akins, Natalie Trundy, Severn Darden, Lew Ayres ... see more see more... , John Huston , Paul Williams , Colleen Camp , Pat Cardi , Richard Eastham , Noah Keen , Heather Lowe , France Nuyen , Bob Porter , Michael Stearns , Paul Stevens , Austin Stoker , Cal Wilson , Andrew Knight , John Landis

The fifth and last of the original series of motion pictures based upon author Pierre Boulle's imaginative novel Monkey Planet, this science fiction film was the least-liked by the series' legion of f... read more read more...ans. Roddy McDowall returns as Caesar, the rebellious intelligent chimp of the previous film, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972). Caesar led his brethren in a revolution against their human masters earlier, but humanity has since nearly destroyed itself in a nuclear apocalypse, and survivors are second-class citizens within ape society. Now a beneficent ruler of his people, Caesar encourages a fragile, peaceful coexistence with humans, despite the protests of militaristic gorilla leader General Aldo (Claude Akins). When Caesar learns that recordings of his murdered parents may exist in the Forbidden City, he journeys to the irradiated wasteland with the human MacDonald (Austin Stoker) and the wise orangutan Virgil (Paul Williams). Although Caesar finds what he's looking for, he also attracts unwanted attention: mutant humans who still dwell underground in the devastated war zone follow the search party back home, leading to a climactic battle and Aldo's tragic challenge of Caesar's authority. Suffering greatly due to penny-pinching studio 20th Century Fox's low budget, Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) is most notable for a cameo by director John Huston as an ape named "The Lawgiver," who appears in a wraparound segment. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

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36% liked it

20,342 ratings

Critics

38% liked it

24 critics

G, 1 hr. 26 min.

Directed by: J. Lee Thompson

Release Date: January 1, 1973

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DVD Release Date: May 5, 2009

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Flixster Reviews (552)

  • TheDudeLebowski65
    December 6, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    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... read more 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.
  • cancercapricorn2002
    August 9, 2011
    cancercapricorn2002
    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 cit... read moreies 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.
  • DrZeek
    August 4, 2011
    DrZeek
    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 cou... read moreld understand?
    Virgil: Uh, he said, "No, Aldo, no!"
  • fb100000145236770
    July 16, 2011
    fb100000145236770
    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 ... read morea 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.
  • ythelastman89
    September 12, 2010
    ythelastman89
    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 of... read moreten 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.
  • SirPant
    September 18, 2009
    SirPant
    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.
  • mjgildea
    March 18, 2009
    mjgildea
    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 ho... read morew 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.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    August 13, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    The future of Humans and Apes is here... very small scale primal struggle. It's slow and contemplative.
  • garyX
    November 23, 2006
    garyX
    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.
  • fb100000440772572
    April 10, 2012
    fb100000440772572
    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, includi... read moreng 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.

View All Battle For The Planet Of The Apes Reviews

Critic Reviews

June 4, 2007
Variety

Considering the usual fate of sequels, it's not so much that this final effort [from a story by Paul Dehn] is limp, but that the previous four pix maintained for so long a good quality level. Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Battle looks like the last gap of a dying series, a movie made simply to wring the dollars out of any remaining ape fans. Full Review

Steve Crum
March 22, 2008
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

Unnecessary sequel is nonetheless entertaining; Roddy Mcdowall back in simian shape.

Michael Scheinfeld
June 4, 2007
Michael Scheinfeld, TV Guide's Movie Guide

Aside from Severn Darden, who relishes his lip-smacking heavy character, the cast seems disinterested; even series stalwart Roddy McDowall looks bored. Full Review

Rob Gonsalves
April 9, 2007
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com

An okay finale. Full Review

January 26, 2006
Time Out

[It] seems reluctant to use the potentials for astute comic strip philosophy that all the other films revelled in to a greater or lesser extent. Full Review

Rich Cline
April 29, 2005
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

surprisingly entertaining

Dan Fazio
September 11, 2003
Dan Fazio, Citysearch

The bluntest, cheapest and worst of the 'Apes' movies. Full Review

Emily Blunt
September 11, 2003
Emily Blunt, Blunt Review

Schmaltzy doesn't get much better...

Spyder Darling
September 26, 2002
Spyder Darling, NY Rock

The battle was lost several movies earlier.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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