Widely regarded as the weakest entry in the Apes Pentology, Battle for the Planet of the Apes is a sorely misunderstood and criminally underrated conclusion to the original series. Let’s get the obvious negatives out of the way first. Suffering from even worse budget cuts than ‘Conquest,’ this ‘grand finale’ doesn’t feel nearly as epic as it could’ve been. The action sequences often look cheap, the editing is bizarre at times, and the villain characters are noticeably one dimensional, although not without merit. Where the film falters in its technical aspects, I would argue is made up for with a strong story and satisfying character arc for Caesar. What I love so much about this film is that we actually get to see a thriving and sophisticated Ape civilization and culture under Caesar’s leadership. From the start we are immediately given a power dynamic between not only apes and humans, but apes and other apes. Caesar seeks to ease the tensions between apes and humans while gorilla leader General Aldo fans the flames of conflict. Aldo is without a doubt the least complex villain of the original series, but that isn’t to say he doesn’t serve a purpose for the overall story. It’s very clear that General Aldo served as an inspiration for the far more multi-layered villain Koba in the prequel trilogy. One of the best characters in the entire series is introduced here, and that’s Paul Williams as the genius orangutan, Virgil. Contrary to the cold hearted Dr. Zaius, Virgil is a resident scientist and theoretical thinker with compassion for both humans and apes, and acts as a loyal advisor to Caesar. Caesar and Virgil have such wonderful chemistry and their friendship is one of the strongest aspects of the film, with excellent performances from Mcdowall and Williams. Bringing back MacDonald was a smart decision, as he serves as the levelheaded human companion to Caesar. What’s really interesting here is that in ape city, Caesar has gun keeper Mandemus to keep himself and the other apes in check when weapons are in demand. Even Caesar needs to present a good enough reason for taking guns before journeying with MacDonald and Virgil into the Forbidden Zone. It’s these little details of world building and rules that help ‘Battle’ stay consistent with its predecessors. Governor Kolp, formerly chief inspector Kolp in ‘Conquest,’ is a far more interesting villain than Aldo. Along with most of former Governor Breck’s staff members who survived the nuclear war, Kolp and the rest of the survivors suffered from mutations caused by the radioactive fallout. Kolp might not seem like much at first, but as the film progresses and he reveals his intentions to destroy ape city with the Alpha Omega bomb, he easily is crowned the most insane human antagonist of the original series. I find it both absurd yet logical that Kolp’s reasoning for going to war with the apes is out of years of boredom. I love the scene when Caesar sees his mother and father on the TV screen for his first time, and his reaction is emotionally resonant. When Aldo storms out of an apes council meeting over a disagreement with Caesar, bad things start to happen in ape city. After Caesar’s son Cornelius overhears a secret plot by Aldo and the gorilla military to overthrow Caesar, Aldo catches him spying and cuts down the tree branch, causing Cornelius to fall to his death. The death of Cornelius is genuinely heartbreaking, and only gives more weight to Caesar’s character arc. The extended version adds more breathing room to the uneven pacing that plagued the theatrical cut and the some of the smaller moments like Cornelius and a human child playing war brings much needed layers to the table. The final battle is also given more structure, showing the apes setting up barricades as the humans attack. Virgil and Caesar fighting side by side in the battle is just awesome and immensely satisfying for fans of the franchise. This was also the movie that finally explored the one law that must never be broken, being that “ape shall never kill ape.” The battle against the humans might’ve been won, but there were still loose ends to the conflict between Aldo and Caesar. When Virgil reveals to ape city that Aldo killed Cornelius, breaking the most sacred law, Caesar’s reaction is devastating and for one last time, Roddy Mcdowall shines in the art of Caesar’s complex facial expressions. Aldo falls to his demise after being pursued up a massive tree by Caesar, and the caged humans are freed, as this represents a new age in equality between mankind and apes. We fast forward 600 years into the future with the narrating Lawgiver telling Caesar’s story to a group of children consisting of both apes and humans. Caesar has fulfilled the prophecy and finally brought peace and coexistence between apes and humans after all of his struggles. It’s notably the first film in the series to end on an optimistic note, with a single teardrop from Caesar’s statue representing closure. Overall, while Battle for the Planet of the Apes suffers from budget cuts, wonky editing, and some thin characterizations, it’s also an unfairly judged finale that concludes the original Apes Pentology with emotional resonance and a thoughtful story that thematically ties the entire saga together. Like ‘Conquest,’ I would highly recommend viewing the extended version.
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