The Planet of the Apes movie franchise is one of the most well-known and longest-running in science-fiction with new movies always developing despite large gaps in between them sometimes.
With a history that stretches back over half a century and various interpretations of the source material, newcomers to the series of movies can sometimes be left confused as to which movies are considered the best. Whilst every fan has their own ranking of the movies, this list will break down every movie in the franchise so far by its score on review aggregate site Metacritic to paint a clearer picture of how critics have viewed the movies over time.
9 Battle for the Planet of the Apes - 40
The last of the original run of Planet of the Apes movies, Battle sees the original version of the ape leader Caesar attempt to find a way to coexist with what remains of humanity after massively destructive war to try and avoid the future of the franchise's timeline which would see the Earth destroyed and his parents flung backward in time to begin the cycle anew.
Though the franchise was always known for making do with the best that could be put together for the time period, the final movie had a noticeably smaller budget than any before it and a lack of anything really new to say or do.
8 Beneath the Planet of the Apes - 46
Despite containing some of the more iconic moments from the franchise overall, the franchise's first sequel remains generally underrated with critics ranking it on the lower end of the series.
This is no doubt partially due to the movie's fairly shocking, and incredibly nihilistic ending which sees the conflict between the last mutated remnants of humanity and the apes reach an apocalyptic conclusion which the franchise would immediately write itself out of to much higher praise.
7 Conquest of the Planet of the Apes - 49
Similarly unloved by critics and similarly underrated like Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Conquest is the first movie to really detail how an ape uprising to usurp humans as the dominant species would really work or even begin.
It's also the first movie to feature the character of Caesar, who would go on to become one of the most significant characters of the entire franchise, in the lead role and the memory of the movie lives thanks to this and the story's often-searing political commentary.
6 Planet of the Apes (2001) - 50
Tim Burton's 2001 remake of the original 1968 movie was, as its score reflects, a very divisive movie in general. While Burton went all out for the effects and designs of his Ape planet, the movie frequently goes over the top and is even deliberately confusing at times.
Mark Wahlberg replaces Charlton Heston as the stranded astronaut in this version and is joined by a fairly phenomenal cast, including Heston himself, but the inconsistent tone and pacing inspired polarized responses from critics who gave sometimes glowing, sometimes hateful, but mostly middling reviews.
5 Rise of the Planet of the Apes - 68
The first in the most recent run of Planet of the Apes movies reboots the story and establishes the Caesar character from the original movies as a regular ape with increased brain function due to experimentation.
James Franco plays the scientist attempting to cure Alzheimer's whilst accidentally creating the ape uprising but it's Andy Serkis who steals the show as Caesar.
4 Escape from the Planet of the Apes - 69
The third of the original run of Planet of the Apes movies, Escape continues the franchise after the cataclysmic events of the ending of Beneath the Planet of the Apes by sending two of its leading apes back through time to 1973.
Social commentary was always something that the franchise was known for but Escape was the moment where this element perhaps truly hit its stride, emphasizing the tragically cyclical nature of violence and oppression through its story.
3 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - 79
Director Matt Reeves took over directing duties for the second movie in the new Planet of the Apes series and found huge success with his incorporation of contemporary political themes back into the narrative, with critics responding much better than they did in the 70s.
Whilst taking a number of ideas from the original sequels, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, like Rise of the Planet of the Apes, tells an entirely original story and demonstrates as much proficiency with engaging action spectacle and emotional drama as it does with thought-provoking ideas.
2 Planet of the Apes (1968) - 79
Franklin J. Schaffner's original sci-fi classic makes up for any dated-looking effects with a timeless story adapted from Pierre Boulle's novel.
Charlton Heston delivers a number of famous lines throughout the movie but it's the ending that really survives as its most iconic achievement, its final shot still packing a punch over 50 years later.
1 War for the Planet of the Apes - 82
Matt Reeves' second Planet of the Apes movie, rounding out a new trilogy that centers around Andy Serkis' Caesar, proved to be the biggest hit with critics yet and, while not as big a hit at the box office than Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, a massive success that's often touted as a true modern must-see movie.
The final chapter of Caesar's second story arc utilizes a number of elements from past sequels not seen in Dawn and weaves them into one of the most openly political statements of the entire franchise, which clearly struck a chord with reviewers.
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