Every Planet of the Apes Film Ranked
From 1968 to now, how does each movie hold up?
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- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsCharlton HestonRoddy McDowallKim HunterAn astronaut crew crash-lands on a planet where highly intelligent non-human ape species are dominant and humans are enslaved.You can't knock the original - where this franchise all began. The film wasn't necessarily perfect, but all of the arcs in the plot make sense and work so well together only to enhance the theology and philosophies of this world...our world. Plus, Rod Serling helped to write it and he is the closest we'll have to a Shakespeare in the 20th century.
- DirectorMatt ReevesStarsGary OldmanKeri RussellAndy SerkisThe fragile peace between apes and humans is threatened as mistrust and betrayal threaten to plunge both tribes into a war for dominance over the Earth.Written like a Greek tragedy, acted out by some of the greatest actors that will ever be, with special effects that makes the Planet feel as immersive and real as it possibly could be without being there. Though, even just three years later some of the VFX shots are beginning to look a little dated (especially when compared with "War") this is the most poetic and symmetrical plot of the new franchise. It also sets an entirely new bar from the theology/logic/philosophies/themes for Planet of the Apes - is everything any true fan, young or old, loved most about the original franchise.
- DirectorMatt ReevesStarsAndy SerkisWoody HarrelsonSteve ZahnAfter the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind.The only reason this film is not nearly as good as "Dawn," is because of the use of Deus Ex Machina. But the VFX throughout hold up, and proved to me much more stunning and consistent throughout than its predecessor.
- DirectorRupert WyattStarsJames FrancoAndy SerkisFreida PintoA substance designed to help the brain repair itself gives advanced intelligence to a chimpanzee who leads an ape uprising.A very solid re-imagining of the franchise. Not nearly as epic as its sequels, but it's still a solid film on its own accord.
- DirectorDon TaylorStarsRoddy McDowallKim HunterBradford DillmanThe world is shocked by the appearance of three talking chimpanzees, who arrived mysteriously in a U.S. spacecraft. They become the toast of society, but one man believes them to be a threat to the human race.The most entertaining, light, and consistent sequels of the original franchise. It is fascinating to see the fully-evolved Apes interact with modern day society, and tragic to see how it all ends. Like all of the sequels of the original, this maintained a theme of "only stupid, emotional men commit atrocities" - a theme that, today, does not hold up. But, this does the best job at attempting to breakdown the complexities of human and ape emotions interacting.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsRoddy McDowallDon MurrayRicardo MontalbanIn a futuristic world that has embraced ape slavery, Caesar, the son of the late simians Cornelius and Zira, surfaces after almost twenty years of hiding out from the authorities, and prepares for a slave revolt against humanity.A solid, albeit melodramatic dystopian film. There were many parallels of this film to "1984," as well as films that would come out later such as "Cloud Atlas." Unfortunately, this film does not avoid the lazily-written-for-dramatic-effect plot points that all original sequels were guilty of, and it comes off especially preachy in this "Slave vs. the Masters" type dynamic.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsRoddy McDowallClaude AkinsNatalie TrundyTen years after a worldwide series of ape revolutions and a brutal nuclear war among humans, Caesar must protect survivors of both species from an insidious human cult and a militant ape faction alike.The humans attack for...boredom? I guess? And Aldo the Gorilla attacks for...boredom/glory, I guess? Especially when compared to "Dawn" and "War" that we have today, this film did not age well at all. It is obvious that this is the most straight-forward/not really a sci-fi anymore war film. There is just very little impact on anything, but it does also show heavy influence by Greek tragedy (The chorus at the end chaning, "ape killed ape," as Cesar makes his inevitable conclusion.
- DirectorTed PostStarsJames FranciscusKim HunterMaurice EvansThe sole survivor of an interplanetary rescue mission searches for the only survivor of the previous expedition. He discovers a planet ruled by apes and an underground city run by telepathic humans.The worst of the originals. Why? Because this film has SO MANY great ideas, but the execution of these ideas were warped and made terrible by the studio refusing to really invest any effort.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsMark WahlbergHelena Bonham CarterTim RothIn 2029, an Air Force astronaut crash-lands on a mysterious planet where evolved, talking apes dominate a race of primitive humans.Makeup was really cool, but getting rid of everything that makes Planet of the Apes what it really is supposed to be was removed and replaced with a plot twist that makes NO SENSE.