Every Planet Of The Apes Movie Ranked From Worst To Best

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.