Every Planet Of The Apes Movie Ranked Worst To Best

A recurring issue with the original movies is how much meddling Fox Studios did in their production. Each film made enough for a sequel, but also suffered a major budget cut. By the time Battle for the Planet of the Apes rolled around, the cost of production was a pittance of what direction J. Lee Thompson needed to make the film work.

In what should have been a rousing finale - or at least one that made its predecessors worth sitting through - Caesar (Roddy McDowell) attempts to win a war from multiple angles, whilst securing peace for the future of the apes and the humans by their side.

Battle has some of the franchise's most striking imagery, including that final shot of a teary-eyed Caesar monument, but also its biggest fumbles. With its reduced budget, the action is lacklustre at best, and has aged worse than arguably any film in the franchise.

Also, it's impossible to ignore the issue with pacing. Some of the scenes move at a glacial pace; others fly by without any thought or care.

The results are a jumbled mess of a movie that buried the franchise for years to come. Shame.