Battle For The Planet Of The Apes (DVD)

This is the fifth and was the last in the Planet of the Apes series of films.This is undoubtedly the worst film of the five but is still quite entertaining. Roddy McDowell once again stars has Ceaser and pulls off the role fantastically. The make up on the film is not quite as good because the film was made on a tight budget. Many of the background charactors and even some of the main charactors can be seen wearing rubber masks rather than the very time consuming makeup that made the films what they were. Worth a watch if you like the others and soon will not be the last to be made. A new film is now in production. Lets hope its a lot better than this. ...  Read the complete review

A poor end to a fantastic series, Battle... is the weakest of the five and feels closer to the TV series than to the movies, which is such a shame considering how brilliant the original was. Still, it does bring the series full circle, and at least the producers kept Roddy McDowall as Caeser, but why does the nuclear war angle have to constantly be regurgitated through these films? At some points, it is very reminiscent of the Omega Man (No coincidence seeing that both were written by the Corringtons) and through most points it feels cheap and tedious. Only worth watching if you've liked the other four. John Huston appears in a cameo as the great ape Lawgiver. ...  Read the complete review

Battle for the Planet of the Apes was co-written by John & Joyce Carrington [Omega Man]. The story focused on the Ape revolution's leader Caesar [son of Cornelius and Zhera], played by Roddy McDowell [of course!]. It takes place a few years after Conquest - and an off-screen nuclear war. The budget was now a mere $1.8 million, which shows. The director was J. Lee Thompson better known for action films [Guns of Navarone, Cape Fear] than for SF. He directed the previous "Apes" film, "Conquest" - it was a lot more violent than the previous films, and needed serious cuts before it got a family-friendly PG rating. ...  Read the complete review