Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) User Reviews

Dramatic and intense followup in which simians undergo a rebellion at a climatic final

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 27 October 2010]

4th movie in the series initiated by ¨Planet of Apes¨ that at time of its release regarded as the most extraordinary Scifi in years, in which he simians turn the tables when they carry out a riot in this acceptable but lackluster sequel in which humans battle the apes led by Caesar . Again the Apes along with a modern civilization of human beings living in future , a distant year 1990 and occurs twenty years after the deaths of Cornelius and Zira, the chimpanzees couple who fled the future destruction of Earth by traveling a spacecraft . Passable and stirring science-fiction movie with a first rate Roddy McDowall who plays here the son of the character he first created and special intervention of Ricardo Montalban as kindly circus owner who's hidden him from the humans for long time . This known story is the fourth of the primates sequels, saga that had begun little years before ; it starts on a culture where humans rule over simians and they are divided in three lineage : gorilla , chimpanzee and orangutan . A plague has murdered cats and dogs and people adopted apes as pets , began using them as workers, waiters and hard employments . Militaristic governor (Don Murray) wishes apes to be treated as animal of burden and regarded as scum , slaves and torturing them into submission. The chimpanzee leader named Caesar( Roddy McDowall) meets Lisa (Natalie Trundy replacing the usual Kim Hunter) and falls in love with her . Caesar itching a coup de état but at the ending he thinks otherwise and even agree a peaceful existence with humans . Caesar is son of Cornelius and Zira from ¨Escape from the planet of apes¨ and turns into leader in this ¨Conquest of the Planet of the apes¨ , attempting to ease disputes between apes and men . Meantime , mean gorillas murder violently every human in sight . At the ending happens a spectacular , fierce confrontation between a human army ruled by governor and the simians commanded by Caesar .

This is an average , lackluster sci-fi flick plenty of metaphysical significance with thoughtful reflexion about origin of human being , racism , political pursuit, apartheid, though also packs action, intrigue and entertainment . Although several elements of the screenplay strain credibility to the limit the story turns out to be pretty interesting and amusing . It happens a parallelism between US racial tension ( Kent State slaughter, revolts in York ,Pennsylvania, 1969, and Camden, New Jersey , 1971) and the events described on the flick . Roddy McDowall's distinctive features prove to be recognisable even under John Chambers' wonderful ape make-up . The performers , particularly Roddy McDowall who provides the sturdy central pivot the tale surely needs , Natalie Trundy and Don Murray are pretty good , the characters are well drawn and in spite of makeup they are still oddly convincing . In spite of time and being mostly a regular follow-up of the former stories , some moments of energy remain and results to be a B movie full of action, battles and suspense . Writing credits by habitual Paul Dehn based on the characters from Pierre Boulle novel , however his screenplay is not just clever and was cut , eliminating some violent revolt scenes and obligated to pacific ending . Nice production design with interior sets taken from ¨Voyage to the bottom of the sea¨ and ¨Time tunnel ¨ produced by Irwin Allen and with great visual effects . One of the important attributes of this work, is the magnificent and luminous cinematography by Bruce Surtees who previously did such a good job for Clint Eastwood . Phenomenal creative make-up design by John Chambers, a first-rate expert . Fine musical score though imitating sounds from the great Jerry Goldsmith .The picture is lack budgeted by usual Arthur P. Jacobs , producer of whole saga, along with 2oth Century Fox . It's full of fury and sound , being professionally directed by J. Lee Thompson during four weeks in Los Angeles , at University and a lavish commercial development , using sometimes a nice visual sense. It's followed by ¨Battle for the planet of Apes¨ and a short-lived TV series, in with Roddy McDowall is again on hand as simian to sustain our interest and feeling .

Aiming to imitate the first movie...

[Benaiah · 7/10 · 1 November 1999]

These movies are a mixed bag to say the least and it doesn't pay to scrutinise several incongruities...but they are enjoyable none the less.

Conquest for the Planet of the Apes, the fourth in the series, covers the 'pre-history' of the first movie, where the apes first start to gain some ascendancy in the world of humans. And like the first movie (and to a lesser degree the second) it actually strives to make a social statement AND does a decent job. Parallels are drawn between the apes struggle against slavery to humans and the struggle for civil rights of black people in America with the ape riot scene intended to imitate a famous riot in the sixties. The point is well made considering the censorship restrictions on violence and the touchy nature of the underlying subject matter - a topic well discussed today but not overtly talked about in 1972. The result is daring, well-made (the riot is stunning) and well-meaning, but sometimes a little clumsy.

Some fairly elementary things are overlooked, as well, such as the fact that in the first movie the apes were evolved by 2000 years thus excusing their very human bearing, but here, in the 'future' of 1991, they are just supposed to be apes with clothes on...doesn't quite work.

All in all, though, an entertaining film and a good showcase for Roddy McDowall's real acting abilities. 7 out of 10.

Roddy's great in next terrific sequel (but people still don't seem to get it)

[mord39 · 5 October 2000]

MORD39 RATING: *** out of ****

Roddy McDowall gives maybe his best APES performance as Caesar, an intelligent chimpanzee stuck in a time he was never meant to live in.

Nearly twenty years after ESCAPE..., Caesar has learned that apes have become household servants for humans to use. Their stature has increased, and their learning abilities too. Though no reason is given in the film (a typical criticism by some viewers) one may presume that the mysterious plague which killed all dogs and cats somehow had an effect on primates. Even Ricardo Montalban's character says "the pets became larger...and larger...until now......"

Soon, Caesar sees himself as a savior who can lead the apes out of their bondage and assert their independence. He leads the charge as the apes revolt and take over, apparently planting a seed that could eventually grow into the world we saw in the original PLANET OF THE APES classic.

The film again is intelligent, and action-packed. It's true that by today's over-blown standards, the ape revolt can't look as awesome as it did in 1972...but the focus here is on the character of Caesar, an ape from another time who is not responsible for what he is, and who has to stifle his anger over the state of his fellow simians and cope with his situation.

CONQUEST is good, solid science fiction.

Talk about a nightmarish future!

[GOWBTW · 7/10 · 12 December 2008]

When the future looks bleak, it's very bleak! In "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes", it's like the 18th century only more primal. The slaves are not humans, but apes(Gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans) not only they are made into slaves, they are also taken over society's workforce by a tyrannical governor. The last surviving talking Caesar(Roddy McDowell) would be the chose one to rise above tyranny. Unknown o most of the crew Caesar is the only chimp who speaks. The reason for this kind of treatment to the apes, they are pets! They replaced the dog and cat, because of a strange plague that claimed the regular domesticated animals. Another reason for such actions is when the circus owner (Ricardo Montalban) sees the horror of everything, and he sacrifices himself to avoid further interrogations. Since Caesar is the hope for all apes, they rise up and gain the upper hand on Man. It's like when the slaves revolt against their masters, the pet revolt against the master who abuse it. We all hate slavery, but when it's not humans owning one another, ti doesn't seem to matter. This scifi movie isn't all stereotypical, it's just have their way of showing the evils of slavery, that's all! 2.5 out of 5 stars!

Chimps Run Amok!

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 5 October 2017]

In a futuristic world that has embraced ape slavery, Caesar, the son of the late simians Cornelius and Zira, surfaces after almost twenty years of hiding out from the authorities, and prepares for a slave revolt against humanity.

Screenwriter Paul Dehn wrote the film incorporating references to the racial conflicts in North America during the early 1970s. This is evident, as the theme is about apes becoming servants and slaves. Now, it is not really explained how the chimpanzees go from being normal chimps to the more humanoid apes we see in this film. But I guess we are supposed to just pretend these are all real chimps.

The message is a bit strong, but maybe made more sense at the time. Today it seems like they tried too hard and it almost seems silly.

Not so much an uprising, more an ape-rising. Amirite?

[BA_Harrison · 7/10 · 19 May 2020]

Set in the not-too-distant future of 1991, Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes sees America under totalitarian rule with humans treating apes as slaves. One chimpanzee with the power of speech, Caesar (Roddy McDowall), leads his fellow apes in revolt.

I'll admit that I neglected to post my review for this film immediately after watching and have only just discovered my mistake, several months later (an oversight caused by watching all of the apes sequels back-to-back).

With my original musings having vanished (so much for the cloud), this review is written from memory. Fortunately, since the film is actually quite memorable, I think I can still give it a fair (albeit brief) assessment.

The setting is great: the use of the then spanking new Century City complex in Los Angeles gives the film a suitably futuristic look, and the oppressive political regime is exemplified by the Nazi-style uniforms worn by the apes' guards (who use brutal force to keep the simians in check).

I seem to remember this as being one of the most violent of the series, the apes arming themselves with lots of sharp weapons for their eventual uprising; it's also effectively chilling, the sight of a rampaging mob of apes charging across dark walkways and down steps being a formidable sight.

One thing I am absolutely certain of: it's a lot better than the film that would follow it -- the terrible Battle For The Planet Of The Apes.

Until I watch it again, or find the review that I'm convinced I wrote at the time, I'll rate Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes a tentative 7/10.

Stonewall for Simians

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 26 August 2013]

Back when I first saw Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes I thought that the filmmakers had been influenced by the Stonewall Rebellion of three years earlier. Seeing it once again reinforced that opinion and the havoc and destruction wrought by the apes reminded me so much of Greenwich Village after the riots brought on by that legendary bar raid.

It's been a generation since Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter were killed by the forces of fear and in the interim their son also played by Roddy McDowall has grown up under the kind care of Ricardo Montalban, a circus owner. In the interim a plague came to earth and wiped out all the dogs and cats in the world, so people starting to take apes as pets. It wasn't long before the more avaricious of human kind saw the possibility in exploiting the apes as a new slave class.

Those avaricious ones are symbolized by Don Murray who is the governor of I presume California. Note how he and all the folks like him and who work for him are dressed in black to symbolize both villainy and fascism. No subtleties in this film. Not all feel like Murray and one who doesn't is an aide played by Hari Rhodes. Why he feels that way about exploiting anyone is rather obvious when you see the movie.

Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes may not be subtle, but it is very effective in putting its point of view across. It holds up very well for today's audience because its message is very relevant.

The nadir of the series

[counterrevolutionary · 4/10 · 23 March 2008]

You watch this movie, with its depiction of humans (with a single exception) as either mindless order-following automata or mustache-twirling stock villains, and you have to ask yourself: Is this what the filmmakers think people are like? Well, no, of course not. This is what the filmmakers think *other* people are like.

And that, far more than decreasing budgets or continuity errors, explains the inferiority of the APES sequels to the original.

Great satire--indeed, great art--is always an examination of *us*, of what *we* are like. This is what the original film did so well and why it is still remembered so fondly. By this point in the series, however, the filmmakers were simply sneering at "them," defined as all those people who didn't attend film school or vote for McGovern. It's a nasty, bigoted little piece of hackwork which tries to pass itself off as clever satire.

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) ***

[JoeKarlosi · 8/10 · 16 February 2005]

Taking place some 18 years after ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES, this fourth chapter in the consistently entertaining series is another good one that benefits from an extra strong performance in the chimp makeup by Roddy McDowall. The actor now assumes the challenging role of his own son, Caesar; or rather, the now-grown, angry but clever offspring of Zira and Cornelius, who survived his own assassination attempt at the climax of the previous movie.

It's now the year 1991 (no, not the same '91 that we all experienced, but actually an altered version for the "next" time it comes 'round, having been changed by the arrival of Zira and Cornelius and their events of ESCAPE). The world has become different due to a mysterious virus brought back to Earth from the astronauts (maybe Zira & Cornelius themselves from their future?); as a result, dogs and cats have become extinct while apes increase in stature and rate of intelligence and ability to learn. To replace their lost pets, a business called APE MANAGEMENT (which I presume to be a franchise throughout the world) has been established to train gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans to serve humans in their homes, as waiters, sweepers, bed-makers, and general servants.

Ricardo Montalban is good as a kindly circus owner who brings Caesar into this new environment, but the young chimp must be careful not to reveal that he is actually the notorious talking ape who threatened humanity two decades earlier. Yet, as Caesar becomes increasingly angrier by the acts of bondage he witnesses among his fellow primates, he launches a full-scale riot to overthrow the community and bring humans to their knees. He is motivated by an all-consuming hatred and wages bloody war as the first step, possibly, to world domination on other continents.

And that's just the point - some viewers say that the battle in CONQUEST is on such a relatively small scale that they can't see how the apes would, or could, "take over the world". But if you pay close attention, the vengeful Caesar only considers this encounter "a beginning", not an all-out apocalyptic defeat of all of mankind in one night! It's easy to gradually come down on this series as it goes along, pointing to the obvious lower budgets and so forth, but director J. Lee Thompson does a great job utilizing the futuristic look of the real-life Century City Complex to pull off a feeling of a city out of tomorrow.

I won't deny that more money could have made this film even better (God knows the pull-over ape masks for the extras are certainly obvious), but I feel it's McDowall's energetic and intense performance that elevates this to a higher level than its budget alone would allow. Don Murray as the evil governor is perhaps a little too theatrical, but Severn Darden is quietly contemptible as his more reserved assistant, Kolp (who would return in the next and final chapter of the saga).

Reportedly, preview audiences found the original ending too violent, so McDowall was called in to loop more "humane" lines of dialogue over some non-matching closeups for the movie's official release. It would be great to see a restored version with the actual ending one day**. But even as it stands, CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES has more than enough action, humor and drama to make it a winner considering it's a fourth sequel.

**EDITED UPDATE -- In 2008, a Blu-ray Special Edition was released which featured, for the very first time, the "original" version of the movie. It features several gruesome, bloody, and violent moments which were cut out of the Theatrical Version. Also restored was the more downbeat ending. My review stands for either version of CONQUEST, but die-hard fans of the series really owe it to themselves to check out the "Unrated Cut"! *** out of ****

It Entertains But The Lack Of Logic Is A Problem

[Theo Robertson · 7/10 · 28 July 2014]

After getting burned that the reboot franchise of the Apes films are something special ( They're not ) I thought I'd revisit the original franchise . What that series did expand upon a circular storyline of a film that must surely have been conceived as a one off movie with a twist ending . By the third film of the franchise the producers had moved in to themes of time travel and self fulfilling prophecies that resemble cerebral time paradox that you'd later see in the likes of THE TERMINATOR . The problem with doing this is that you're in danger tying yourself up in knots and painting yourself in to a corner . Certainly I thought CONQUEST a much more entertaining and enjoyable film than RISE which mirrors this film to a large extent but the lack of internal logic is very problematic

CONQUEST is set in 1991 , almost 20 years after the film was produced and is a future where cats and dogs have died out and apes have replaced canines and felines as pets initially but have now effectively become slaves . The scenario quickly falls apart when given much thought . Is a gorilla a type of pet you'd want ? I'm guessing it's very difficult to keep even if it's toilet trained and a fruit bill alone would make keeping one prohibitive . One fact is that a chimpanzee is the most vile , violent and vicious of primate . An adult male chimp can literally tear a human being from limb to limb so there's no way anyone would want to have one in the same household . It's pointed out to the humans in the previous film that humanity will be replaced by the apes as the dominant species so what does the human race do ? " I know let's breeds millions upon millions of apes , keep them in every city on Earth where they outnumber us because they're cheap labour " I understand both greed and short termism but if anyone had any common sense this problem would be easily averted . I'm certain it'd also be impossible to condition apes in to doing relatively complex tasks but I guess you have to suspend disbelief or otherwise there would be no story

This is a shame because Paul Dehn's screenplay does contain rich food for thought . I found this America of the future absolutely fascinating along with the locations that have austere functionalism and are entirely credible . Bad enough about apes but there's a very large elephant in the room where bad things happen to " troublemakers " no questions asked . The fact this type of fascism is specieist rather than racist doesn't make it anymore commendable and the first half of the film is much more compelling than the second as we're shown glimpses of this scenario and allows the actors to give incisive and economical performances with their roles , especially Severn Darden who resists the temptation to do any goose stepping and underplays everything . The second half of the movie concentrates on the Ape revolution and probably isn't violent enough for my liking but I'm guessing I've only seen PG version where much of the violence is excised . It is very noticeable that the fascist militia seem to suffer from tunnel vision and can't see apes creeping up on them from the flanks

Despite all the numerous flaws CONQUEST is a fairly enjoyable film and I liked this much better than the remake / reboot / reimagining from 2011 . It does however require turning off your brain in order for the narrative to work and sometimes this is a bit too difficult especially if you remember the internal continuity of the previous and following film

Racist subtext

[son_of_cheese_messiah · 3/10 · 20 March 2009]

By the time of this, the fourth instalment of the series, they were obviously running out of money. And ideas. The set is a strange concrete jungle, chosen no doubt because it was cheap to film there.

Even leaving aside the ludicrous notion of apes as docile slaves (even chimps can easily rip a man apart as seen in recent news stories), the story does not make a great deal of sense and there are many plot holes. We are led to believe, for example, that this is some sort of police state with the police walking round in jet black uniforms (Although this may just be part of the cops as 'fascist pigs' lazy subtext, see below) yet these same police show huge levels of slowness of action (why do they wait so long before interrogating Riccardo?), incompetence (why do they not check to see if a certain character is dead?) etc. It just is not plausible even within the premise of the film, a cardinal sin.

But the worst offence in this film is that it is downright racist. There is only one black character in the whole movie and, apart from the Mexican Riccardo Montalbal who appears early on, he is the only one shown with any humanity. All the white characters, without exception, are cruel, sadistic and brutal, prepared to beat and torture apes at the drop of a hat. No doubt many of the inadequacies of the plot are due to this Apes-as-oppressed-blacks narrative which is hammered in again and again. The lead chimp, Caesar, even confides to the virtuous black man that justice can only be achieved when they obtain power, a remark straight out of every revolutionary's handbook.

This film is probably the low water mark of the POTA franchise.

Not a bad sequel, with some sharp writing.

[nycovom1 · 26 December 1999]

Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes is actually a good movie. One could argue that it's a case of good writing in the face of a pathetically low budget, ala Star Trek. The "future city" in the film was actually a then-new business complex in L.A., on the verge of completion. The producers lucked out and got permission to shoot there. This was good, because the studio had alloted said producers a ridiculously low budget, something like 1.7 million dollars, to make the movie. The tiny budget especially shows through in the special effects and the props: check out the "authenticator", used to make Ricardo Montalban's character tell the truth to the goverment heavies, which looks like a dining room hanging lamp with a blue bulb inside. Money problems aside, Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes is still entertaining, and makes some pointed observations about real-life society in the process. Just overlook the only-in-'72 turtlenecks, afros and push-button phones with the cords removed. :-).

Most likely the best of the original Planet of the Ape sequels

[Hayden-86055 · 6/10 · 2 December 2020]

Roddy McDowall's back in action here in a very interesting concept for a film, being set in an alternate reality where apes have evolved into basically mute people with only Caesar being able to speak. The apes are treated like slaves and eventually Caesar has to rise them up to fight their masters in a bloody battle for liberty, it's very interesting and Roddy McDowall is great fun to watch.

6/10: Good standard film, with nasty villains and some terrific fight scenes

Not the worst Apes sequel

[Rrrobert · 6/10 · 29 March 2019]

Thin story but lots of action, though the relentless fighting gets a bit monotonous.

Good performances from Roddy McDowall, Hari Rhodes and Ricardo Montalban. Fun to see nice guy Don Murray play a devious villain.

Like all ape films there is the pithy social commentary, but it is a bit heavy handed and obvious. The most sympathetic human is a black guy (get it?)

The thing with the ape sequels is that they all made statements on society, but all those ideas were present in the original film anyway. All the satire of the sequels was really just a reworking of things we have seen before.

The best Planet of the Apes sequel. McDowall is brilliant yet again

[Coffee_in_the_Clink · 6/10 · 22 February 2020]

Roddy McDowall is back in the third sequel in the Planet of the Apes franchise, and in an unusual scenario he takes on the role of a different character this time as Caesar, the son of Cornelius and Zira. Set about twenty years after the events of "Escape from the Planet of the Apes", a virus brought back to Earth from a spaceship has rendered cats and dogs extinct on Earth and in the mean time, apes have replaced them as domestic pets, but they have now evolved enough to be made house-slaves. Caesar, who possesses the power of speech and is of a higher intelligence than other apes due to his parentage, has been kept hidden at the circus his parents left him at years ago under the guardianship of the owner. However, after a sequence of events, Caesar's existence becomes known to the authorities and they want to kill him before he completes the prophecy of the world in which his parents travelled back in time from all those years ago. Caesar has plans for revolution.

This is quite a dark and disturbing film in the context of the ones that came before and the one after it. The authorities parade around in Gestapo-like uniforms and there are scenes of cruelty and torture inflicted on the apes. No doubt a sort of metaphor for the ambassadors of the worst evil humankind has produced. McDowall is almost better than what this film deserves, and he does take attention away from any shortcomings the film has. For example, it's not very clear just how apes have evolved so much in the past twenty years. Possibly an after effect of the virus that eradicated dogs and cats? There's plenty of action here at the end and those scenes are decent enough, although their lack of gore renders it rather theatrical. Overall, I would consider this to be the best of the Ape sequels.

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is the weakest part of the original franchise

[eva3si0n · 5/10 · 20 August 2022]

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is the weakest part of the original franchise. This is such a mediocre film that it cannot even be called independent. He just connects 3 and 5 films. It can be seen that the authors had already uploaded ideas, well, there was no need to make another film in the time interval before the main events.

4th out of 5 movies & worth a watch.

[Web_Of_Doom · 6/10 · 19 August 2021]

This movie is not as good as the first & third film in my honest opinion but it is on par with the second movie, as it tries to be thought provoking which is a good thing. However a lot of the so called logic just does not add up which can become frustrating to the audience, so you have to separate the good parts of the movie away from the badly scripted to be able to enjoy.

Over all a decent 6 out of 10 movie, as films should mostly inspire in it's audience a feeling of enjoyment & sometimes make you think about life.

Extremely dated and downright bad.

[valleyjohn · 2/10 · 24 March 2011]

I thought it was a good idea at the time to buy the Box Set of The Planet of The Apes but after watching the penultimate movie in the series , I'm starting to wonder if there has ever been a worse movie franchise than this one. Talk about look back at movies with rose tinted glasses, i used to love these films as a kid but now i see them for what they are - terrible.

This film is a depressing look at how in the future ( 1991 ! ) the humans treated the apes at first like pets and then like slaves. It looks extremely dated as do most 1970's films that are trying to look futuristic. It has many tired slavery connotations in it and it looks like it's set in the newly built Central Milton Keynes. There is one interesting scene near the end when the apes confront the police in the street and it's the spitting image of the Zombie scene in Michael Jackson's Thriller. Why Roddy McDowell continued making these movies is beyond me but all i have got to say is I'm please i have only one more to watch!

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes - The best of the Best!

[gandhi_III · 10/10 · 17 August 2008]

This is by far the best ape film of the series.

The powerful performance by Roddy McDowall is riveting, I have never been so touched by a performance.

This picture has a similar feeling to Romero's Dawn of the Dead.

Roddy is by far a superior performer than Heston.

It is A grade low budget cinema at it's best.

The timing of the picture is also on par. I really thought I was watching an apocalyptic thriller set in the 90's (the vision of the future). This movie is way ahead of it's time.

Much respect to the writers and directors for making such a masterpiece.

Conquest's ambitions while grand aren't fully realized and see this entry slightly better than the second while not reaching the quality of the third or original entry.

[IonicBreezeMachine · 6/10 · 21 December 2023]

20 years after Zira and Cornelius' deaths, the United States has migrated towards a totalitarian state where following a plague that wiped out cats and dogs, domestication of the ape gradually gave way to their enslavement. In the year's since, Milo (Roddy McDowall) hides the fact he can talk as he resides in the care of altruistic circus owner Armando (Ricardo Montalban) who has kept the fact Milo can talk a secret while keeping him safe from the world. As Milo and Armando travel to one of the cities where slavery and abuse of apes is commonplace, Milo inadvertently alerts the state to his presence and finds himself separated from Armando and hiding in with his enslaved kind as Governor Breck (Don Murray) attempts to roust his whereabouts. Through a series of events, Milo takes the name Caesar and winds up in the stewardship of Breck where he begins to sow the seeds of revolution that will give rise to the planet of the apes.

With the success of Escape from the Planet of the Apes yielding healthy box office on a reduced budget, producer Arthur P. Jacobs moved forward on yet another sequel with returning screenwriter Paul Dehn this time focusing on Zira and Cornelius' surviving child from the end of the last movie. The film thanks to its low budget managed to yield a decent profit (but continued the trajectory of less and less box office gross not even cracking $10 million) and would prove sufficient for one final film. Critical reception tended to be mixed with some appreciating the unique turn by returning actor Roddy McDowall who got to play a harder edged character, while many were beginning to feel the series had run its course and this latest entry was little more than an excuse to get more mileage out of the established costumes and sets. There are certainly ideas at play in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, but they're often lost among the bombastic excess that feels like it's lacking in focus with character development.

Much like the setup of the previous film, you'll have to allow a lot of leeway in order for the premise to make sense as while the inciting incident of the plague that wiped out cats and dogs may have been established in the prior film, it's no less silly here and is a far cry from the air of mystery and intrigue we got from the original. While I have no problem with the series exploring how we got to the state showcased in the original film, you get the sense the filmmakers are working against ever tightening purse strings who are placing more emphasis on cost effectiveness over narrative or logical cohesion. In spite of those plot hurdles the movie's vision of the future of Ape enslavement and Caesar's revolution is well realized especially from Roddy McDowall who gives some really strong expressions of emotion especially in the first two thirds. As with the previous entry Conquest feels like it's rather hamfisted on exploring the nature of rebellion and revolution and issues I had with the prior entry are still present and arguably worse.

We also see a major issue in the third act where a major restriction of this series comes front and center and that the make-up's lack of differentiation among the apes makes it hard to care because Caesar is often lost among the crowd. While the Ape make-up was undeniably impressive for its time, the fact prior films either had them balanced against human protagonists (like the original or Beneath) or limited the number of apes (likes Escape) helped to keep the characters from getting lost in the scenery. Outside of Caesar (and maybe Caeser's mate Lisa to a degree) the rest of the apes don't have any character and just blend together due to the restrictive nature of the make-up in allowing different characters.

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes isn't a terrible film and certainly tries to have commentary on the nature of revolution and racial relations in the United States, but it also sees a lot of these ideas presented with less clarity and focus than they ought to be especially on the character side. Serviceable, but shows that the series is approaching the limits of what current technology and budget can accomplish.

D+: A Disturbing Exercise in Table-Turning and "Irony Squared"

[RiffRaffMcKinley · 4/10 · 30 August 2007]

The irony of the first legendary "POTA" movie was that everyone had to object to the way the humans were treated, when we did just as bad or far worse to our captive animals. "Conquest," the brutal fourth installment of one of sci-fi's greatest franchises, finds irony in bringing us back to square one.

Unfortunately, "COTPOTA" is the weakest chapter of all. One reason is probably the "irony x irony" mentioned above. However, that isn't the only reason. This film is populated with ew-don't-touch-me, chauvinistic humans and "See, do" apes. On the plus side, the actors in ape makeup did raise the bar in terms of simian arm-swinging. And Roddy McDowall, as Caesar, the one ape on Earth who can talk, is sort of like the angry Communist leader-pig in Orwell's "Animal Farm," appalled by the wretched treatment of his fellows by their human captors but willing to do some dark, sadistic things to gain the upper hand. Ricardo Montalban is terrific as Armando, Caesar's only human friend, but his scenes are few and (generally) far between. Natalie Trundy (the POTA staple) strives for a genuine performance underneath her thick, mute chimpanzee character, but it doesn't come through. And Don Murray plays Governor Breck, Caesar's villainous foil, whose human superiority complex leads to much torture and violence.

The climax of the film is the one key that unlocks the entire jumbled five-film story, but it's heavy on brutality and skimpy on any real substance. Director J. Lee Thompson makes the film darker than obsidian, often shortchanging real emotion for the sake of keeping us biting our nails in terror. Of course, we don't. And Tom Scott's bizarre musical score is not the critical final piece of the puzzle-- it's the corner piece you had no idea even existed.

I wouldn't say stay away from this movie, especially if you want to see the entire story. Just be ready for the darkest, most boring POTA movie ever. And about "boring"-- it's only 88 minutes long. So that is saying something.

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is underrated and bleak, but great - My Ultimate Review

[Holt344 · 7/10 · 23 October 2022]

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is the fourth of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs, and is directed by J. Lee Thompson with Paul Dehn returning to write. Actor, Roddy McDowall, returned to the franchise but not as Cornelius but as their son Caesar. It makes sense and enables him to come back to the franchise, which is nice to see. It's worth noting how this is Roddy McDowall's best performance as the two Simian characters he have played, it's brilliant. The film also stars Ricardo Montalbán, Don Murray and Natalie Trundy, the former of them had a small but important role in Escape of the Planet of the Apes. Whilst this film is much darker and extremely bleak at times, there's still some of the cheesiness from its predecessor, but the tone is just right as something else would have never made for a great story being told. Conquest is underrated and is now 50 years old, actually quite vital now more than it was when it came out in 1972.

In a futuristic world that has embraced ape slavery, Caesar, the son of the late simians Cornelius and Zira, surfaces after almost twenty years of hiding out from the authorities, and prepares for a slave revolt against humanity.

Thompson staged every scene with attention to detail, such as highlighting the conflicts with color: the humans wear black and other muted colors, while the apes' suits are colorful. Don Murray suggested to Thompson his wardrobe with a black turtleneck sweater, and rehearsed his scenes after translating his dialogue into German "to get this kind of severe feeling of the Nazis". Screenwriter Paul Dehn wrote the film incorporating references to the racial conflicts in North America during the early 1970s, and Thompson further highlighted by shooting some scenes in a manner similar to a news broadcast. I think these themes were perfect for the movie and where they are in the timeline, the racial conflict and slavery. J. Lee Thompson, you created a Planet of the Apes movie, also a film that is remembered 50 years later. I think "Conquest" would have flopped if another director would've been chosen.

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes have its fair share of flaws, but the overall production is quite impressive, too bad J. Lee Thompson's didn't get to see his vision through regarding the much darker ending. I actually think the first half of "Conquest" is quite excellent and the second half had the potential to be great, but I thought there were too much action and less what I think these films is about, philosophy and not dumbed down action. But I do understand why the long action sequence had to happen, as it sets up the final film. I do wish I would have bought the blu-ray version to see the un-rated version (with original opening and ending) but the theatrical cut worked quite well. To conclude my review I want to quote a film critic: Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film "may be the best since No. 1, 'Planet of the Apes'," calling it "a self-contained allegory in which man's cruelty to beasts becomes symbolic of man's inhumanity to man. It is a simple but powerful premise, thoroughly developed with a good balance between dialog and action by Dehn and splendidly directed by J. Lee Thompson."

The return of Caesar

[afonsobritofalves · 7/10 · 13 September 2018]

In my opinion, it's not as good as the first 3 films (it's hard to make a sequel as good as the first films); But even so, it's a very good movie, with fantastic scenes, good special effects and a moving and captivating story; In addition, the film has a great merit for having managed to deal with a character so conplex and with a rather sad and complicated past. But, as I said, this is likely to be the second worst film in the saga due to the development of the story (because it is very slow and a bit boring), as there are many scenes that remain open and are not exclarmed in the last movie. But even so, it's a great movie that everyone should see at least once in their lives. Highly recommend.

"Cast out your vengeance."

[The_Movie_Cat · 7/10 · 20 April 2001]

Conquest is the least remembered Apes film, and the one that receives the least amount of TV screenings. There's the original, of course, followed by the one with the mutants, the one on present-day Earth and Battle, the rubbish one. To this end a subtler, low-key picture set in a future Earth 1990s doesn't seem as instantly memorable.

Yet in a period where disease has caused the widespread slaughter of farm livestock, Conquest has taken on a fresh relevancy. Escape details "dog bonfires" that purged the land, and Conquest takes up this strand.

It's superb science fiction. Making a virtue out of its low budget, Conquest is carved as a grimy, low-key thriller, minimal sets being used to their optimum advantage. Apes only have menial jobs in this time period – painters, cleaners, shoeshines – and face regular police brutality, often for just sitting on the wrong seat, or walking on the wrong patch of grass. The parallels are clear to see. Holding up a mirror to the Watts riots of 1965, it comments on the racial situation in a way that a Hollywood movie doing so directly would not have been allowed. This is exactly what science fiction is for, using its fantasy trappings to make political statement.

Items like the authenticator lean slightly towards pulp SF, though generally this is the most mature, bleak and realistically coded Apes film. Long has the myth that the sequels are worthless reigned, a rumour clearly untrue by the fact that the series lasted for five films. If all the sequels were terrible then they wouldn't have kept on getting made. I put this belief down largely to the awful concluding movie and the lacking TV series, because artistically and conceptually Conquest is arguably the greatest Apes film ever made.

Definitely the greatest of the sequels, any quibbles are minor ones. There's some clunky, yet necessary exposition from Ricardo Montalban in the first five minutes, and some of the speech making towards the climax is a little trite. "When we hate you, we're hating the dark side of ourselves", Caesar is told. Yet even with a studio-enforced overdub of McDowall's final lines to carve a more hopeful ending, this is still unsettling, powerful and unashamedly violent. It's often difficult to watch, which is praise, and one can only wonder how much more disturbing it would have been with the intact dialogue and the full riot unedited. Playing the embittered son of Cornelius, McDowall really comes into his own, with Hari Rhodes's Martin Luther-King persona acting as a counterpoint to Caesar's Malcolm X.

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes was set in 1991. In the real world, 1991 saw the police beating of Rodney King. Two decades had passed, yet little or nothing had changed.

What happened?

[G-LuV · 3/10 · 8 June 1999]

"Planet Of The Apes" an awesome, classic movie... "Beneath The Planet Of The Apes" a little slower paced.. but some of the scenes with the mind controlling bomb worshipers are very interesting. "Escape From The Planet Of The Apes" In my opinion the best of the 5, cute, funny, tragic.. excellence.

Then this came along, a mindless, boring movie. I understand the nessecity of this movie to continue the storyline, but this one gets real boring real fast. The Apes revolt from their masters in an elaborate war scene that seems to last forever in a 60's "future" town. This one can be skipped. (Coincidently, The next and last installment "Battle For The Planet Of The Apes" is well worth watching, and I'd recommend it and all the other apes movies over this one)