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The film that finally connects the dots between our present and the ape future is high on concept and drama, but makes for depressing viewing.
McDowell is back in the make-up for a third time - this time playing Caesar, the fugitive son of future-apes Cornelius and Dr Zira. Over the 20 years that he has been in hiding, behaviour-conditioned apes have been introduced into human society as servants and pets. When Caesar discovers how his brethren are being treated, he vows to liberate them all.
"Conquest" is a pure slice of dystopian cheese, but somehow if you can get past the implausible speed of ape evolution, the savage cruelty of humanity, the unsettling civil rights parallels and the expanse of plot holes, you can still uncover a perfectly adequate (if grim) film.
The actors all put in passable performances - except McDowell, who brings a particular flair and plausibility to Caesar's radical idealism and vengeful passion. And while the budget is clearly reaching new depths, the decision to set the film in the (then newly constructed) Century City development of LA brings a convincing sterility and tension to the future.
But it is in the impassioned political speeches and the apocalyptic final battle scenes that the film really comes together. If you are ready to thrill to the fall of civilisation (for the third time in this series), then there are worse ways to spend an afternoon. Just don't expect much humour.
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