Third Viewing: Planet of the Apes (1968)

Planet of the Apes features some outstanding storytelling. That’s really what keeps me coming back to this movie after all these years. So much of the filmmaking has aged. There are all these awkward slow zooms on things to make sure we get it. And the makeup — while great — has of course aged.

And the twist ending certainly doesn’t have the same impact when you’ve seen the movie almost a dozen times. But none of this detracts from how much I appreciate this movie.

It’s a somewhat silly and goofy 1968 science fiction movie that still says very relevant things even today. While its message about race relations is pretty obvious, it goes deeper into issues of separation of church and state that make the film very prescient.

Rating: 8/10