Yes, it's the last of the original movie series, but there would be a brief TV series and then a 25 year gap before it all started up again. Lots of history to fill in, even fictional. So let's get this straight. Cesar, the son of Cornelius and Zira (seen briefly in flashbacks), is actually an ancestor most likely of his own parents. This film deals with the aftermath of the education of the simians to be able to speak, and now they are in complete control. Claude Rains is the ill-tempered ape General Aldo who refuses to accept a human (their teacher) saying no to him and displays the animalistic tendencies that take over his educated brain. This makes him the bane of leader Caesar's existence, and now a father, all he wants is to maintain peace for the surviving decent humans, but it's obviously not going to be with Aldo's support. There's a human variation of General Aldo with Severn Darden's governor of the forbidden city, and he's just as vile as Aldo.
Legends director John Huston introduces the story as the law maker orangutan in the far off future, setting up for the revelation that a nuclear explosion destroyed the human civilization and somehow the apes survived as well as the humans who are now basically slaves. The story (presumably in the beginning of the 21st century) shows a destroyed city, still contaminated by nuclear poisons, and populated by humans who were obviously descendants of the cult living under Manhattan in the second film. This fills in questions which arose from the first two films, leaving the overall rating of the film based upon details.
From Augustus Caesar in "Cleopatra" to ape king Caesar here, Roddy McDowall has gone full circle, and he's quite commanding as he deals with the power mad Aldo while trying to keep peace and start his own dynasty with wisdom and understanding. You can see the foundations of the ape civilization from 2000 years forward, and this helps with continuity. For fans of the franchise, it's an acceptable ending with the family element restored as Roddy and wife Natalie Trundy try to do their best to instill their values in their adorable son Cornelius (Bobby Porter). An evil act by General Aldo sends the battle into a different zone where the law of "ape shall not kill ape" is broken and brings Caesar to a point where he has to confront his own moralities.
Austin Stoker plays the brother of the character that Hari Rhodes played in the previous film, one of the few humans whom Caesar finds he can relate to. Veteran actor Lew Ayres is recognizable through his voice as the orangutan who manages the ape's weapon supply and finds himself in danger when the evil general and his rebels invade, not only with the purpose of destroying the humans advancing on their camp, but Caesar as well. This leads to a very tense conclusion with a stand-off between Caesar and Aldo and a prologue that reveals the circle is not yet complete with the situation between the humans and simians quite different at the end of the 30th Century as it would be where the first film started. It's formula in many ways, but still has enough value as it gives the viewer many ethical questions about how we will continue to make the world work as the universe changes.
Legends director John Huston introduces the story as the law maker orangutan in the far off future, setting up for the revelation that a nuclear explosion destroyed the human civilization and somehow the apes survived as well as the humans who are now basically slaves. The story (presumably in the beginning of the 21st century) shows a destroyed city, still contaminated by nuclear poisons, and populated by humans who were obviously descendants of the cult living under Manhattan in the second film. This fills in questions which arose from the first two films, leaving the overall rating of the film based upon details.
From Augustus Caesar in "Cleopatra" to ape king Caesar here, Roddy McDowall has gone full circle, and he's quite commanding as he deals with the power mad Aldo while trying to keep peace and start his own dynasty with wisdom and understanding. You can see the foundations of the ape civilization from 2000 years forward, and this helps with continuity. For fans of the franchise, it's an acceptable ending with the family element restored as Roddy and wife Natalie Trundy try to do their best to instill their values in their adorable son Cornelius (Bobby Porter). An evil act by General Aldo sends the battle into a different zone where the law of "ape shall not kill ape" is broken and brings Caesar to a point where he has to confront his own moralities.
Austin Stoker plays the brother of the character that Hari Rhodes played in the previous film, one of the few humans whom Caesar finds he can relate to. Veteran actor Lew Ayres is recognizable through his voice as the orangutan who manages the ape's weapon supply and finds himself in danger when the evil general and his rebels invade, not only with the purpose of destroying the humans advancing on their camp, but Caesar as well. This leads to a very tense conclusion with a stand-off between Caesar and Aldo and a prologue that reveals the circle is not yet complete with the situation between the humans and simians quite different at the end of the 30th Century as it would be where the first film started. It's formula in many ways, but still has enough value as it gives the viewer many ethical questions about how we will continue to make the world work as the universe changes.