Planet of the Apes Movies Ranked

10. Planet of the Apes (2001)

No. Just no. Surely one of the worst reboots of a classic film ever made and that's saying a lot. I can appreciate the fact that Tim Burton tried to do something different by setting the film on a different planet where the ape society is more like a mirror image of humans rather than the less advanced apes of the original films. However, this isn't explored to the full extent as we see more time establishing that these apes have drugs rather than exploring the way that their society works. The main villain, general Thade feels more comical than intimidating, mainly because of how primal he seems compared to every other ape in the film. While this could have helped the character, it just makes him look goofy and not seem like a true threat because he acts hundreds of years behind his fellow apes.

9. Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

A film this bad still not being bottom of the list really speaks volumes doesn't it. Who would've thought that a race of telekinetic, radioactive humans living below the surface wouldn't make for good entertainment. My god this is awful. The film is firstly just stupidly boring. Charlton Heston's character does very little which is weird because he's the main character. The villains established in the first film are almost shoved to the side and are left hunting this human cult like a bunch of cartoon villains. The original film had an immense cliff-hanger ending, and this films entire premise just completely ruins the eeriness of the setting by revealing that some humans survived and kept their intelligence, rather than the mute humans who are nothing more than slaves on the surface. Also the whole idea of worshiping a nuclear bomb was comical and the ending is nowhere near as shocking as it should have been considering what it was.

8. Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)

Sigh. This is how not to end a franchise we know that much. This should have been an epic conclusion to the intense build-up that Conquest gave us. While the strong social commentary remains, not much else does. I will give the film credit for the fact that it attempts to tie into Beneath, by having the below surface humans, who haven't unlocked telekinesis yet, meaning they don't realistically seem to pose much of a threat, other than the fact that they have guns also. This introduction works against this instalment however, as the conclusion to the battle between apes and humans takes us into the world of alternate timelines, way before the Avengers made it cool. The other final battle between Ceaser and General Aldo is very underwhelming also and lacks the emotional punch that was captured so well by the reboots in the 2010s.

7. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)

If you like social commentary then you are really in for a treat with this one. The whole film basically exists as a take on slavery and is used well to set up the underwhelming finale to the original series. From minute one it feels like something is building, but this does take a while to arrive. As well as this, it feels that at times, the films focus on being a story of reverse slavery which takes away from other parts of the film, especially character development. The film just seems to try too hard to get its premise across, and this harms it more than it helps as we see very little that builds up to the original film as after all, this is a prequel.

6. Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)

Ok so let me just state the obvious first. This is by far the least action packed film of the series. But somehow it works. Somehow this is far from a boring film. There is one reason for this. The contrast between the ending and the rest of the film. The majority of the film is quite light hearted, as we see the world fall in love with two talking apes who escaped future earth before it was destroyed. They are pampered, and become celebrities whilst one detective remains sceptical. It just works. However this all is more impressive when we see how dark the ending is. This is one of those films that needs a full rewatch to appreciate its very best scene fully. It was truly unexpected and genuinely left me shocked on first watched and I never thought that the originals would be able to manage that.

5. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

By no means was this a bad film. I just wasn't blown away by it. Maybe It suffered from the weight of expectation but Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes does not quite stack up against the reboot trilogy of the 2010s. However, there are positives to take. This film is looking to kickstart a new era for the series, and the story and setting make that prospect very interesting. There are plenty of references to the reboot trilogy, as well as a few nods to the original film, which made me very happy. The story itself feels like it takes heavy inspiration from the 1968 original film, but the almost post-apocalyptic setting ties it in perfectly with the ending to War for the Planet of the Apes. While individual apes don't stand out as much as they did in Ceasers time, there is definitley potential for these characters to become very compelling.

4. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Just to make one thing clear. There is a massive gap in quality between the top 4 and the rest of this list. This is another film that contains a lot of social commentary, but this is taken in a very different direction to the original series. This film is a massive what if scenario, aimed at the animal testing industry in a series of events that somehow has worse consequences for the human characters than it did when humans played god in Jurassic Park. There isn't a whole lot to say to be honest because this is just a solid film, nothing more, nothing less.

3. Planet of the Apes (1968)

Talk about being ground-breaking. The original Planet of the Apes has got to be one of the most important films ever released. Considering how long its been since its release, it still holds up surprisingly well. A lot of classic films age quite poorly, but this certainly not one of them. While the rest of the series made some questionable plot decisions, this first instalment kept it simple, and provided a surprisingly eerie setting as the audience tries to figure out where all the humans have gone. The ending will be forever iconic, the beginning of something truly special.

2. War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

What a way to end the most consistent trilogy since the dark knight. Period. Aesthetically, this is one of the most beautiful films I've watched, and the content of the film certainly does its settings justice. It's very bleak, with both the apes and humans on the verge of extinction and having their worlds pushed even closer together. The action sequences are masterful and the film is very emotionally intense, which is a theme of the trilogy of reboots. The opening scene is probably the most well crafted scene of the whole series, and sets up a film that has close to no outstanding flaws.

1. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

This film has only become better over time. When it was first released I did not like it as much as Rise, however, rewatches of the whole series have completely changed my mind. The reboots got a lot of things right and Dawn really encapsulates all of that. It's emotional in the right places, it pays proper respect to the films before it, and is brutal when it needs to be. This is just a brilliant film where both the apes and the humans are compelling, with two societies struggling to co-exist, leaving our main characters almost stuck in the middle of what could break out into a war at any moment. Usually, the middle film of any trilogy isn't considered the best, but like the dark knight, Dawn knocks that stereotype out of the ground for six.