The problem with these Planet of the Apes sequels seems to be that they get too ambitious or hasty with their stories. In the third film it worked because of great actors and because it actually flowed well with the original film. In this case the story flows well with the original, but not at all with the previous two.
What do I mean by that? Well, the events of the second film paved the way for the third film which was supposed to work as a prequel to the original, in its own way. And thus this film is trying to bridge the gap between the third and the original. Explain how the planet of the apes came to be. The only problem is that it insists on using the characters from the third film, and that simply doesn't work timeline-wise. The world has changed a lot between the two movies and not in a realistic manner. It like a magician snapped his fingers and suddenly the world was abruptly changed in the blink of an eye.
Not helping the matters is that the film doesn't quite have the scope, the talent or the budget to pull of the story it wants to tell. It has a big climax, but you don't buy it as well as you should.
Still, the characters are nice, especially Caesar, played by Roddy McDowall, who also played Caesar's father Cornelius in two of the previous films. It's shame that they couldn't work Kim Hunter back in some way, but McDowall is nice as well.
Still, if you've liked the films so far, I don't think you should stop at this point. It's nowhere near as good as the original, or even the third one, but it's worth watching in order to get the full experience.
What do I mean by that? Well, the events of the second film paved the way for the third film which was supposed to work as a prequel to the original, in its own way. And thus this film is trying to bridge the gap between the third and the original. Explain how the planet of the apes came to be. The only problem is that it insists on using the characters from the third film, and that simply doesn't work timeline-wise. The world has changed a lot between the two movies and not in a realistic manner. It like a magician snapped his fingers and suddenly the world was abruptly changed in the blink of an eye.
Not helping the matters is that the film doesn't quite have the scope, the talent or the budget to pull of the story it wants to tell. It has a big climax, but you don't buy it as well as you should.
Still, the characters are nice, especially Caesar, played by Roddy McDowall, who also played Caesar's father Cornelius in two of the previous films. It's shame that they couldn't work Kim Hunter back in some way, but McDowall is nice as well.
Still, if you've liked the films so far, I don't think you should stop at this point. It's nowhere near as good as the original, or even the third one, but it's worth watching in order to get the full experience.