TL;DR – You can feel its iconic nature at every turn, even if not every part has aged well. 

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ series that viewed this film.

Planet of the Apes Review –

This week Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes landed in cinemas, and while I was watching it, I was reminded of the musical score from the original film. This unlocked a memory of being a kid and watching through all of the Apes films as a family. Well, there is no better time than the present, so I thought tonight would be an excellent time to dive back in and see just how it stacks up with my memories.

So, to set the scene, George Taylor (Charlton Heston) leads a crew on an experimental spaceship that is going near the speed of light. While it was 1972 on Earth, they were sure that it would be 2673 when they all emerged from hibernation. However, something goes very wrong, and the ship crashes into a lake on a barren, unknown planet sometime after 3978. As the survivors, Taylor, Landon (Robert Gunner), and Dodge (Jeff Burton), try to find their footing in this new world, they discover that there are humans, but they are mute and run around in herds. The more concerning factor is that humans are being hunted by apes … who can talk …!        

The first thing you see is that even though the production is remarkable and the location work is stunning, this is a film rooted in the 1960s. We open with the leader of the mission and the film, smoking a cigar in the middle of the spaceship as he monologues about the human condition. This is tied for the earliest film we have reviewed on the site, the other being 2001: A Space Odyssey, and much like that other venerated film, you can feel the power that helped to define a genre, but also aspects that feel deeply uncomfortable. This does create an odd juxtaposition at times.  

What Planet of Apes does remarkably well is set a mood. The barren landscapes, the isolation, and the slightly off-putting musical score all work together to create a mood that pulls up. So you are ready for those first glimpses of humans off in the distance watching out stranded astronauts. All of this builds to the relief of the water masterfully, and you get led through these waves of emotion and intent that lull you into a false sense of security before it strikes. Indeed, they kill off most of what we think will be the main cast in the first interaction. It does start to meander narratively from there, but what an opening.      

It is remarkable how well the make-up translates even today. When you look at the facial prosthetics, the actors can only emote with their eyes and bottom jaw, but it is enough to get it across. Indeed, it is easy to get sucked into this world and its competing ideas of politics, science, and religion. Indeed, at times, it is not at all subtle about its exploration of fundamental religious forces attacking scientific progress. The power of calling people by their preferred names, bodily autonomy, and sentient rights are some of the many themes going on here. In many ways, it was incredibly progressive for its time; there are some aspects around the depiction of the apes and the make-up of the humans that have not aged well at all.

While this is the Planet of the Apes, I am not sure this film would have worked nearly as well without Charlton Heston out in front. Sure, he does not play a particularly likable character, but you can see him throw his all into the role with seriousness when it could have been easy to play this as a farce. Indeed, he is on show, with very little to hide for almost the entire film. Also, I am not sure it would have had the sticking power without one of the most iconic moments in cinema history to finish the movie off. It still works, even if it shouldn’t have been a surprise if you were paying attention.

In the end, do we recommend Planet of the Apes? Yes, we would. At the same time, not all of it has aged well. You can feel its iconic nature at every turn; the location work and sets bring scope to the world, and it is great watching Charlton Heston rip through every scene with gusto. If you liked Planet of the Apes, we would recommend to you Rise of the Planet of the Apes.    

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you watched Planet of the Apes?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Planet of the Apes

Directed by – Franklin J. Schaffner
Screenplay by – Michael Wilson & Rod Serling
Based on – Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle
Music by – Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography by – Leon Shamroy
Edited by – Hugh S. Fowler
Production/Distribution Companies – APJAC Productions, Disney+ & Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Starring – Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly, Linda Harrison, Robert Gunner, Lou Wagner, Woodrow Parfrey, Jeff Burton, Buck Kartalian, Norman Burton, Wright King & Paul Lambert
Rating – Australia: PG; Canada: PG; Germany: 12; New Zealand: PG; United Kingdom: U; United States: G