With Conquest For The Planet Of The Apes setting things up nicely for an epic all-out war between the apes and humans, the fifth and final film in the series - Battle For The Planet Of The Apes - can only be seen as a major disappointment, the small-scale skirmish between Caesar's followers (both ape and human) and the irradiated humans from the nearby forbidden city having 'fail' stamped all over it. No matter who wins, it's impossible to believe that such a minor battle could ever determine the fate of the entire planet.
Not only is the battle itself a let down, but the script in general is deeply flawed. Apparently, over the course of a few years, all chimps, gorillas, and orangutans have developed the ability to talk, which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever: I imagine it would take hundreds, if not thousands of years for this to happen. It's also difficult to understand why Governor Kolp and his followers would opt to live in the ruins of a radioactive bombed-out city when there are green pastures and lush forests just a few days away. As for violent hot-head Aldo the gorilla being given the rank of General, what was Caesar thinking?
On a slightly more positive note, Paul Williams (Phantom of the Paradise) is excellent as wise orangutan Virgil, Roddy McDowell is as good as always as Caesar, and the film does wrap things up neatly by suggesting that an alternate timeline has been created where man and ape can finally live together in harmony.
A possibly-too-generous 4.5/10, rounded down for those really stupid looking hats worn by all of the mutants.
Not only is the battle itself a let down, but the script in general is deeply flawed. Apparently, over the course of a few years, all chimps, gorillas, and orangutans have developed the ability to talk, which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever: I imagine it would take hundreds, if not thousands of years for this to happen. It's also difficult to understand why Governor Kolp and his followers would opt to live in the ruins of a radioactive bombed-out city when there are green pastures and lush forests just a few days away. As for violent hot-head Aldo the gorilla being given the rank of General, what was Caesar thinking?
On a slightly more positive note, Paul Williams (Phantom of the Paradise) is excellent as wise orangutan Virgil, Roddy McDowell is as good as always as Caesar, and the film does wrap things up neatly by suggesting that an alternate timeline has been created where man and ape can finally live together in harmony.
A possibly-too-generous 4.5/10, rounded down for those really stupid looking hats worn by all of the mutants.