Conquest of the Planet of the Apes Review: Yet another shocking sequel

After a masterpiece, a monumental misfire, and a guilty-pleasure favorite movie of mine, where will Conquest of the Planet of the Apes land on the spectrum of Planet of the Apes films? Yet again, it was quite interesting to predict where this sequel would take the series, and yet again, this movie delivered on doing something wholly unique from its predecessor. Where the first two films were two sci-fi epics that were very far apart in quality, and the third film was a fish-out-of-water adventure drama, Conquest didn't; this film ended up taking the route of a dystopian political thriller. I have always loved to see how each film in this series is able to differentiate itself from the previous film, but not every risk comes with a reward. So, did this film deliver on its promising premise or fail to do anything interesting? That is what I, Brighton Nelson of The Reel Ranker, will be tackling in today's article: a Conquest of the Planet of the Apes Review: Yet another shocking sequel.

After the heartbreaking ending of the previous film, eighteen years have passed, and Zira and Cornelius's son, Milo, and Armando, his new father figure, are living in a dystopian hellscape where apes are treated not only as pets but as slaves. Milo (now dubbed Caesar in this film and onward) and Armando are in hiding, as nobody knows that Caesar survived the attack on his parents. As foretold in the previous film, the rise of the apes occurs when a talking ape leads a revolt against humans in an act of abolitionism. However, Caesar accidentally talks when an enslaved ape is being abused on the streets. This leads to an unrelenting interrogation of Armando, which unfortunately leads to his death via defenestration. During the extensive questioning process, Caesar then starts to live life as a slave, further becoming antagonistic toward most humans. After Armando's death, the villain, Governor Breck, hears through the grapevine that Caesar is the secret, talking ape and electrically tortures him into speaking. However, before Caesar dies, Breck's aide, MacDonald, reveals he sympathizes with the ape cause due to his African-American heritage and deep-rooted hatred toward slavery. After MacDonald frees Caesar, Caesar starts a significant rebellion, and by the end of the movie, he realizes that he doesn't want ape supremacy but ape-human equality.

This movie does an excellent job of establishing a dystopian setting and tackling themes of discrimination, racism, and slavery, making for an emotionally rich and impactful narrative. However, while I admire this film immensely, I find it a bit boring to sit down and watch it. The action and spectacle are by the numbers or even subpar due to increasing budget constraints, with it being tough to believe that Caesar's small-scale revolt would amount to the planet actually being dominated by apes. Also, the plot is built upon an inciting incident that could've been so easily avoidable, making the plot rather frustrating. Frankly, this film also has very few likable characters, especially compared to its predecessors.

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes excels as a thematically rich political thriller exploring discrimination, slavery, and revolution, but constrained action and budget constraints hold its bold storytelling back from perfect fruition.

On top of all this, Rise of the Planet of the Apes acts as a reimagining of this film, and, outside of socio-educational purposes, that film is far superior in telling the story of an ape revolution that leads to them being the dominant race. This film is also devoid of levity, unlike its predecessors, making the film feel like disgusting entertainment at times. While I'm not saying they should write jokes that ruin emotional moments to give this film levity, this film could've used some of the lighter elements from the previous movie to make it more bearable to rewatch.

The Reel Ranker Verdict

Reel or Unreel? - Reel
The Reel Ranker Score: 72%
Letter Score: B
Star Ranking: 3.5 out of 5

I commend this film's bold direction, deep themes, and circular storytelling, but without fun action, an exciting cast, or breathing room, this movie is hard to rewatch. I'd recommend one viewing for its rich themes and intriguing narrative, but typically, I'll gravitate to the superior reimagining of this film instead. I recommend this to anyone who loves the first few original films, but this isn't precisely a must-watch.

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