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Every Modern Planet of the Apes Movie Ranked from Worst to Best

Eli Brau May 13, 2024

With the release of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, humans have combated the franchise’s titular primate over the course of four entries, each having gone to further lengths to develop the lore and conflict.

And although this isn’t the first set of films in the franchise – five entries prior to 2011’s Rise, starting in 1968 and ending with Tim Burton’s much maligned reboot in 2001 – it’s the first to have built an extended universe of this magnitude. The first three revolved entirely around Andy Serkis’ Caesar, while 2024’s new addition jumps further in time to explore the evolution of apes in this universe.

And they wildly vary in quality and tone. They’ve grown grimmer in time, with Rise feeling notably hopeful to War feeling conversely cynical. And alongside that change in tone is a change in effects. Subsequent releases rely more and more on CGI, which makes sense as you consider the change in script and material.

So I should conclude that I don’t really care for these movies. I’ve struggled to build any connective tissue to this world or these characters. They just don’t feel real to me, and the stories within this universe don’t do much to move the needle.

I’ll be focusing primarily on the latest four movies – from Rise of the Planet of the Apes to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. The modern takes, if you were to call them, that have interlocked into one broad story.

Here’s how I’d rank the four modern Planet of the Apes movies:

4. War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

3. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is an admirable demo tape for director Wes Ball. The movie shows his talent for directing large-scale action sequences and consistent CGI-driven work, but it doesn’t quite have the succinct and emotionally powerful story to match.

Read Cinephile Corner’s review of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024).

2. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

1. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

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