This fourth film in the "Planet of the Apes" series picks up the action a few years after "Escape from the Planet of the Apes" left off.

At the end of the third movie, the ape Cornelius and his wife Zira were murdered by humans when they traveled back in time. However, their son, Caesar, remained behind with kind-hearted circus owner Armando, who kept the ape's existence a secret.

"Conquest of the Planet of the Apes" opens in 1991, after an epidemic has wiped out the dog population, and talking apes have become humans' favorite pets. But the primates endure a horrible existence, chained-up and forced to perform slave labor.

Governor Breck, who rules the land with an iron fist, despises the apes and attempts to find the now fully-grown Caesar. The villainous leader's plan is to kill Caesar before the simian can cause any trouble and help his fellow apes take over the world.

Caesar turns out to be a lot more intelligent than Breck expected, however, and won't put up with the governor's abuse. Before long, Caesar convinces those of his kind to stage a massive revolt against the human race...