Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)

 

The original series kept on going even though the budget kept shrinking, as the studio was still in dire financial trouble after a few very expensive flops. Nevertheless, the quality here remains pretty consistent, as the makers now focused more on decent characterbuilding and dialogue; the special effects had to take a backseat. This one is once again rather good, albeit not as poignant perhaps as the previous outing. 

Set roughly 20 years after Cornelius and Zira were killed and their baby considered dead, the world is a very different place indeed. All dogs and cats have died due to an extraterrestrial virus and humans took a liking to simians. They soon realized that apes could be made to perform tasks and now apes are in essence used as slaves. To this end, they are brought to centres for conditioning and oftentimes, they are brutally abused. 

In case you see several links to the slavery issues and atrocities many nations (and in this case specifically the USA) have committed: naturally this is very much on purpose. 

In the modern city were this story plays out, the governor is pretty much a fascist who fears and hates ape intelligence. If the situation wasn't clear enough: the police are very much fashioned after SS troopers with those uniforms and most humans treat the apes like absolute crap. 

Into our story walks Armando, the circus owner who raised Caesar, the child of Cornelius and Zira. They are in town to try and get people to come to their circus, but when Caesar betrays himself by anngrily shouting at the police abusing an ape, things quickly go south. Armando is taken in for questioning and eventually kills himself to stop the secret of Caesar from coming out. Caesar himself meanwhile goes into hiding among the other apes, but grows ever more angry and appalled at the treatment his fellow apes get. Slowly but surely, he sets things in motion for a massive revolt, with a little help from Mr McDonald, an associate of the governor and perhaps the only person on that level who truly cares about the apes.

No, it is not a coincidence that this is the only black man in the administration. 

So in a way, with everything people have done to try and stop the rise of the apes, exactly the opposite happens. 

The budget cuts are obvious: most of this film was shot in one location, a futuristic building. Most of the ape masks are also the basic ones previously used for actors in the background. But the story and execution are snappy and brutal and this film does not shy away from the harsh reality of what slavery is. True, it's a little on the nose that McDonald is the only one besides Armando to feel sympathy for the apes, but it does make a lot of sense as well. You could find the character of Governor Breck a bit too obviously fascist, but again: it fits. 

Roddy McDowall carries the entire film and he does an excellent job at giving Caesar character and has the opportunity to run the gamut of emotions, which is not an easy task underneath all that makeup. They did add a part at the end to make Caesar seem more benevolent instead of just killing off most of the humans, which you could argue is a bit odd but in the context of the story it does feel more justified. Caesar knows there are decent people out there, so him suddenly wanting to kill them all would make him just as bad as Breck. 

Another good entry in the franchise and one that whizzes past. Maybe not the best in the series, but when the quality is pretty consistent, no one is complaining.