Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)

Written by: Paul Dehn (screenplay), Pierre Boulle (characters)
Directed by: J. Lee Thompson
Starring: Roddy McDowall, Don Murray, and Ricardo Montalban
Reviewer: Brett Gallman
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“Ape Management... is in the hands of the apes.”

Reviewer's Rating: *** (Three Stars)

The fourth Planet of the Apes film is an interesting sort of sequel and a prequel; set in 1991, it follows up the events of Escape by reintroducing Cornelius and Zira’s progeny, Milo (literally a chip off the old block as he’s also portrayed by Roddy McDowall). As predicted in the previous film, he’s the alpha ape who will deliver his currently enslaved species to salvation by rising against the human captors. So we finally get to see just how the planet begins to transform into the one we saw way back a couple of movies ago; it’s a mostly satisfying tale, mostly due to Milo (who later takes the name Caesar). Having McDowall portray the character is an oddly appropriate choice because at times it feels like we’re just watching the mild-mannered Cornelius finally snap. The connection there truly helps to land our sympathies with the primates.

Of course, most of the humans prove to be a sordid lot who deserve their fate. The big baddie this time is Governor Breck (Don Murray), a callous authoritarian who firmly believes in the dominance of mankind. This time out, the obligatory real-world allegory is obviously slavery; at one point, Milo/Caesar even appeals to an African-American officer (Hari Rhodes) to sympathize with his struggles; it’s sort of a great moment where Caesar has to decide if he’s going to live up to his namesake. He eventually does, of course, when he leads a violent and well-shot riot (the severity of which will depend upon if you’re watching the rated or unrated version--the latter is quite bloody).

The film’s ending will also vary greatly depending on which version as well. Both end in some fantastic monologues by McDowall; however the tones are decidedly different. The unrated ending is bleak and perhaps true to the franchise’s circle of violence and intolerance, but the theatrical version is the “correct” one for Caesar’s character arc, which would conclude in the next film.

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