Every Planet Of The Apes Movie Ranked From Worst To Best
Which one is king of the apes?
A triumphant Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy has just come to a close.
Less than a decade ago, the notion of such a thing existing was utterly bananas, but they did it. They reinvented a dormant franchise and helped it reclaim its crown.
Prior to the release of 2011's surprisingly good Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the world hadn't seen a competent new addition to the series in decades, so what Caesar and his CG simian army have achieved is remarkable.
Despite the franchise's woes over the years, the Charlton Heston original remains a classic, but with a stellar new trilogy to compete with, how does it stack up in 2017?
And where does Tim Burton's ill-advised attempt to remake it rank on a list of movies which has swelled to nine entires since the turn of the decade?
9. Battle For The Planet Of The Apes (1973)
This was one battle too many for the Planet of the Apes and it left an ugly scar on the face of the series for years to come.
A slashed budget was Battle For The Planet Of The Apes' worst enemy and the results made its simian masks and costumes look like something from the bottom of the bargain bin at a backsteet fancy dress store.
This is a shame, because Battle is one of the most ambitious instalments, daring to take things a shade darker by having the apes face off against an army of post-apocalyptic humans (or the closest thing to them the FX resources would allow).
The subtext about the value of freedom and equality is in place and series mainstay Roddy McDowall is as reliable as ever in the role of Ceasar, but he's about the only thing in the movie that is convincing.
The large-scale conflict the series was building towards goes off with a whimper, and the photography and editing reek of cut corners.
Rounding off the original series, Battle paid out in chimp change.