One of those films that I wanted to see because of it's 'classic' status. The special effects and action scenes didn't date very well, the acting is not great, and the story is filled with plotholes. But it still managed to capture my attention because of the original way it delivered its social criticism.
Watching those apes mistreat us humans, you can't help but think how stupid and unfair those damn dirty apes are. I really couldn't stand them. Until somewhere in the film you suddenly realize that those apes represent the way humans act nowadays, and that the way humans are treated in the movie is how we (used to) treat minority groups; slaves, heretics, women, animals etc. Ouch.. Suddenly the ape society is a mirror of human society, showing all it's errors. At times the morals are just too much, but I think it's a great social critique in a sci-fi setting.