All 8 ‘The Planet of the Apes’ Movies Ranked from Worst to Best

Adjusted for inflation, seven of the previous ‘Planet of the Apes’ movies have earned nearly a billion dollars at the box-office. With the latest one, ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ in theatres right now, I’ve ranked all the movies in the franchise from the worst to the best in descending order.

Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)

The final instalment in the original bunch of the ‘Apes’ movies, was also final nail in the coffin of a series that had been ground breaking when it kicked off. Told via flashback in the early 25st century, the movie tells the story of the intelligent ape, Caesar, leading his troops in the final battle for the planet against the humans in a post-apocalyptic society. Much of the humans have been wiped out by nuclear war and those who survive are radiation scarred ones living in underground ruins. Caesar has to also deal with a gorilla General named Aldo who’s trying to stage a coup thinking his leader is too soft on the humans. Made on a pittance compared to the original, it featured laughable effects and horrible writing. While it did carry forward some of the themes introduced in earlier movies, particularly about the need for coexistence between apes and humans, the movie was just an excuse to milk the franchise for all it’s worth. 

Planet of the Apes (2001)

Tim Burton rebooting a sci-fi classic, featuring talking apes would have made for a mouth-watering proposition during the turn of the 21st century. The original has all the whimsical oddities and thematic elements that are evident in Burton’s earlier work. The finished product however made everyone go back and watch the original just to wash away the memory of ever having witnessed this train wreck. It adapted much of the story from the original but with a few added twists of its own to create a Hollywood spectacle including that inexplicable final twist of an ape Abraham Lincoln that made no sense whatsoever. Excellent make-up and effects coupled with a first-rate cast couldn’t hide the mind-bogging ludicrous plot and hokey tone. It even featured original ‘Apes’ thespian, Charlton Heston, in a cameo uttering an iconic line from the first movie. Tim Roth however chewed up scenery like a ravenous bear as the evil, General Thade.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

When the original did well, Hollywood did what it knows best, make a franchise out of the damn thing. This one was obviously intended to be a cash-grab attempt to quickly capitalise on the unexpected success of the first film. Made to look like the original on an evidently smaller budget, it surrendered much of the socio-political subtext that made the first one, great. After his immensely anguish laden moment in the climax of ‘The Planet of the Apes’, Charlton Heston and his newfound girlfriend wander off into the radioactive wasteland. Unfortunately and and under hilarious circumstances he’s captured and held captive by a cult comprised of subterranean mutant humans who worship a giant nuclear bomb. Another human astronaut crash lands on the planet with his mission being to save Heston’s crew. But much like in the first movie he soon gets a lesson about his new surroundings and the dominant species on the planet. The newly introduced faction of human mutants, only serve to add fodder for the plot’s inter-species conflict to ensure action sequences in new locations towards the end of the film. Though some of the sequences might seem ambitious for that time, they have not aged well, particularly that wall of fire in the desert. 

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)

It had its share of ridiculousness and budget cuts compared to the earlier parts but this one truly leads in from its immediate predecessor in completing the story arc of Caesar’s rise as the leader of the apes. The story feels necessary and organic rather than forced and there are enough allegories attempting to merge real human history and the mythology that the past movies had built. A virus wipes out all cats and dogs in the future, leaving humans to turn to keeping apes as pets. A young Caesar born of parents who were from the future undergoes torture at the hands of human captors when separated from his sympathetic owner. He leads the ape revolt against humans, laying the foundation of the first movie’s ape society. The movie also starred the legendary Ricardo Montalban who played Khan in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan.

Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)

A complete twist on the original’s plot, this one has a spaceship carrying ape astronauts that crashes into present day (1971) earth, with one of them pregnant with the baby that will grow to lead the ape revolution. It takes the plot of the original and flips it around completely and reveals humans as being no different as the apes when encountering an equally capable species. They show the same fear, apprehension and paranoia that the apes showed to the first intelligent human they met in the original movie. Though how did the apes figure out the nuances of being an astronaut is never explained. 

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Tim Burton did to the apes franchise what Joel Schumacher had done to his Batman movies, made it a Hollywood pariah that no one would dare touch for another ten years. That was until director Rupert Wyatt and the writing duo of Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa came along and laid the bricks for a new series to be born from the rubble of Burton’s disaster. Rising like a phoenix, this was a magnificent reboot that salvaged the best bits from the series and coupled with the latest technology delivered a thinking man’s blockbuster. James Franco’s scientist adopts an orphaned baby chimp, who’s intelligence has been enhanced because of the drug testing his mother underwent. The ape raised with a lot of affection finds the outside world as cruel and harsh when he’s taken away from his home later in life. Soon he finds his place amongst his kind and using his superior knowledge starts the ape revolution. Gone were the body suits, replaced by CGI motion capture and Andy Serkis as Caesar was simply astounding. 

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

SlashFilm editor Peter Sciretta has chimed as well, going so far to claim that "Dawn" is to "The Empire Strikes Back" as "Rise" was to "A New Hope." And that for me is the perhaps the most apt description of the film. The ambition to create a series that organically builds to a crescendo while honouring all that which came before seems to be very strong with this rebooted franchise. The movie takes place many years after ‘Rise’ with much of Earth’s human population wiped out by the simian flu. The apes led by Caesar have created their own sanctuary and society hoping to lead a peaceful life but a run in with human’s looking for a power source for their homes leads to friction. With mistrust on both sides ever present and the need to be the dominant species of the utmost importance, it allows for a scenario of power struggle that only the players perpetrating think will lead to a better future but instead paves the way for further conflict. The effects are even better than ‘Rise’ and in addition to Any Serkis there’s Toby Kebbell’s memorable turn as the villainous Koba. The only reason it’s not number one on the list is because the original movie was such an iconic achievement.

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Based on the French novel by Pierre Boulle, the movie’s position in the annals of cinema and sci-fi cinema in particular is of the highest order. The immense philosophical, social, and racial subtext in the movie has been mined repeatedly for countless other films and pop-cultural references. Filled with iconic imagery and dialogues, the movie has left an impression like few other films. The final twist itself has been used in countless parodies and jokes but hits you like a ton of bricks the first time you watch it.