By Elazar Abrahams
It’s been a few months since I worked through the Planet of the Apes franchise, and therefore a few months since I haven’t been able to stop grunting in a simian voice. The science fiction epic is truly one of cinema’s greatest offerings, and while its canon includes novels, comics, and TV shows, the ten movies – five original, one remake, and four in a reboot series – remain the saga’s core. Planet of the Apes has spanned many decades, and watching them sequentially highlights the advancements in modern movie making, as well as the enduring social commentary present in so many of the installments.
Not all Apes are created equal though. And so we present TV and City’s ranking of every Planet of the Apes movie to date.
10) Planet of the Apes (2001)
Tim Burton’s remake of the original film is the only true dud in the lineup, a real one-starrer. The practical makeup is a fun update on the old costumes, and a glance at the cast list seems to ensure a fun time. But no, this movie fails to capture any of the magic of what makes the other Apes flicks roar, and checks any deeper undertones at the door. The plot is more convoluted than needed, and some of the alterations to franchise lore are just mind boggling.
9) Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)
As the final film of the original run, Battle is a bad movie made worse by the fact that it is a lackluster conclusion as well. At this point, the studio had severely reduced the budget for sequels as the monkeys faded out of popularity, and it showed on screen. Caesar and other characters we had grown to love are on the sidelines in this adventure that feels like it’s running on fumes.
8) Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
The third movie has a clever conceit, flipping the plot of the first entry. Instead of astronauts from 1970s Earth being flung far into the chimp dominated future, Escape finds a pair of the futuristic Apes time traveling back to that very 70s human society. Unfortunately, the script veers into camp far too often, spending a clunky middle act as a fish out of water comedy before unsuccessfully pivoting to a darker, tragic ending.
7) Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
Never has the political commentary of Planet of the Apes been as explicit as it was in Conquest. Sure Caesar’s rise and subsequent ape revolt isn’t exactly subtle or nuanced, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less thought provoking. The pacing is spotty in this one but the highs, boy are they high. It’s absurdly creative and dastardly violent. This is definitely where the list starts to shift from bad and mediocre, to quality cinema.
6) Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
After a dormant decade, Rise rebooted and revitalized Planet of the Apes for a new generation. This film is ranked just below the top half of the list purely in retrospect; the sequels it spawned are simply more ambitious and greater achievements. Still, Rise deserves to be honored for kicking things off slow and steady, and for introducing us to Caesar, played by Andy Serkis in a motion capture performance that would pioneer the tech to new heights.
5) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
Some years after the events of Rise, Dawn tracks the growing tensions between apes and humans in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco. Director Matt Reeves directs the hell out of this movie, with such precision in each scene’s cinematography. The story feels weirdly small scale, but as the middle chapter of a new trilogy, it does the job. And Koba, one of the franchise’s best villains, is in this one. Enough said.
4) Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
The direct sequel to the original Planet of the Apes is absolutely bizarre and underappreciated, with too many folks not recognizing its brilliance. It begins as a direct rehash of the first movie, only with a new cast of humans. Soon, they find themselves underground, where a mutant society descended from the survivors of humanity worship a nuclear bomb. It continues the characters arcs of some fan favorites and still manages to forge it’s own (very) unique path. Beneath’s exciting climax leads to such an incredibly bleak ending that you can’t help but respect it.
3) Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)
Scream recency bias, but the latest chapter, Kingdom, is visually stunning and all-around epic. Meant to kick off another trilogy, we can’t claim that Kingdom mines the emotional depth as well as its predecessors, but the narrative is a great continuation of the story that begins to bridge the chasm between Apes old and new. The action keeps viewers on the edge of their seat, and it’s a love letter to what this series has been able to achieve to date.
2) War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)
Peak. War for the Planet of the Apes is a testament to the power of a good blockbuster. Emotional, visually spectacular, high-stakes, pick your adjective. It’s a meditation on leadership, sacrifice, and survival. It’s also just about chimpanzees fighting humans. You watch it and think how a reboot of a 60s movie that had James Franco do buddy comedy with a monkey led to this greatness. Long live Caesar.
1) Planet of the Apes (1968)
After all these years, there is still no other choice for the top spot on this list. The original Planet of the Apes remains the definitive entry in the series, and each project that follows with the Apes branding is simply trying to capture a fraction of its magic. You might only remember the iconic twist ending, but there’s so much to love in this sci-fi masterpiece that has stood the test of time. Over fifty years later, it continues to be a benchmark for the genre.
So there you have it. Do you agree with our list? Planet of the Apes shows no signs of stopping, so this list may need to be tinkered with soon… until then, do not forget: “Ape not kill ape.”
TV and City 