Favorites - Planet of the Apes Movies: Least Favorite to Favorite - Part 3

Well, here is part 3 of my long ranking of the Planet of the Apes movies. Yeah, I'm getting in depth with this thing. Since my first look at the original movies was pretty brief, it was time for a do-over. So, next up is the latest entry into the franchise. Some say that it's the best of the bunch. As for me...you'll see below.


3. War of the Planet of the Apes

Next up is the latest entry in the franchise. War of the Planet of the Apes is supposed to take place a couple of years after the last movie, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Because of Koba’s actions in the last movie, a military group called Alpha-Omega has declared war on Caesar’s tribe. After suffering crushing losses, the tribe leaves for a new home far away from humanity. Caesar, on the other hand, leaves the tribe with a few close apes in order to get revenge on the group’s leader, The Colonel. Unfortunately, things don’t go in the tribe’s favor and they become prisoners of the group. Faced with slavery and the threat of another military group coming, the apes do what they can to survive in this possible final movie.

I didn’t see this one until it hit DVD mostly because… I hadn’t seen the previous movie yet. I know I’m a horrible fanboy, but I’ll get to that later. This was a really good movie. The story is well-told and the performances work. The CG in the movie is the best it’s ever been. It takes a timeless story and throws it into the POTA universe. We also deal with some darker themes like slavery, war, and revenge. Even though it’s pretty dark, it actually has some well-placed humor thanks to “Bad Ape” played by Steve Zahn.

Our hero goes down a pretty dark path. Caesar, who was mostly a level-headed ape before, has basically had enough of humanity’s crap and he wants revenge on the Colonel. Andy Serkis sells the role like he did in the previous movies. I also thought Woody Harlesson was pretty good in the role of The Colonel. He and his group, Alpha-Omega, was a nice homage to the mutant humans from the second and fifth original movies. We also get hints of humanity slowly de-evolving to the point where they are in the 1968 movie.

The action is pretty good overall. It’s not as heavy on action like the last movie was, but it still packs a punch. The scene in the forest and the final battle are pretty exciting. Even when the action is going down, there’s still enough things going on that’ll justify its 140 minute feature. I also thought Michael Giachanno’s score was pretty moving like it was in DPOTA. There really isn’t much wrong with the film overall. There are places where it can drag at times. Also, the human characters are again a bit hollow even though there are good performances behind them. Overall, this was a nice end to the Caesar trilogy.


2. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Next up is the second part of the Caesar Trilogy. Now, I have to admit that I didn’t see the movie until a couple of years later. I guess I figured I’d get around to it. I have no clue why I waited that long, but man, that was so stupid to do so! Dawn of the Planet of the Apes takes place about 12 years after Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Caesar and his tribe has flourished in the woods while humanity has fallen to the outbreak of the Simian Flu. A group of humans from the city suddenly show up looking for a new power source. Against the wishes of Koba (his second-in-command), Caesar allows them to stay. Unfortunately, things get escalated to the point where war breaks out between the two groups.

This is definitely the high point of the trilogy for me. After the previous movie set the groundwork, DPOTA hit the ground running. We get to see what happened since the Apes fled and humanity fall. I thought the story was pretty good and all of the performances worked. Of the three movies, this definitely felt like it was trying to be a remake since Battle for the Plane of the Apes was pretty similar. We got Caesar trying to maintain some sort of peace with humans while another ape and human screw that up. At least this movie is much better.

As usual, it takes certain themes and runs with them. I know I’ve said this before with the previous ones, but Andy Serkis handles the role of Caesar with ease. While he’s now a leader, he’s also a father with a pretty rebellious son. Even though it was brief, I did like the little arc Blue Eyes, the son, had. I also thought Koba, the second-in-command, was a pretty good villain. At least Toby Kebell got to be in a good 20th Century Fox movie since his other outing, Fant4Stic, sucked. While Koba has a somewhat irrational hatred for humans, you could understand his reasons especially when the jackasses of humanity get involved.

The action scenes are probably the best of the franchise to me. I felt this movie balanced out the action and drama better than War did. The beginning scene, the apes’ attack on the human colony, and the final fight were pretty cool. The CG here is definitely an upgrade from Rise. The apes look good and the ruined parts of San Francisco look nice as well.

I don’t have many bad things to say about this one either. One criticism I’ve noticed with these newer movies is that the human aspect is a bit hollow. The performances work but there’s not much there. Case in point, we got Gary Oldman here and he barely got to do anything. Also, the pacing could be a little off at times but it’s only a small number of times. Other than those things and maybe a couple of nitpicks, this is an almost perfect movie.


1. Planet of the Apes (1968)

Well, you more or less knew this would happen. When re-watching all these movies, I wondered if the any of the newer movies could eclipse this movie. While they do look more modern and handle some interesting themes, I still feel the original is a little better. It could be nostalgia or the fact that this movie still holds up almost 50 years later. In Planet of the Apes, astronauts crash on a planet in the year 3979. They find out that the planet is ruled by apes while humans are basically animals. George Taylor is captured but is helped by two ape scientists when it’s revealed that he’s different from the others.

So, what can I say that hasn’t been said? Heck, I pretty much gushed on this movie a few times here already. I guess I can do it one more time. The story is pretty good. Since Rod Sterling wrote the screenplay, it feels like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone. All of the performances here. Charlton Heston always brought it when it came to movies and he did it here as Taylor. He was a man so fed up with humanity that he literally left them. While he probably wasn’t the best person to represent humanity, but he tries.

The apes looked good for the most part. Yeah, you might have had one that looked off, but the makeup looked good for 1968. While it might not hold up now, it still worked for the franchise. The side characters were good. Zira, Cornelius, and a few others were good and helped flesh out the movie. Zaius was a good villain for the movie as well. While he wasn’t a good ape, you gotta admit that he had his reasons especially when you find out that the planet is a post-apocalyptic Earth. Since I saw Beneath the Planet of the Apes first, the ending here didn’t really surprise me. Still, it does pack a punch.

The movie moves at a nice pace for the most part. While you have nice action, you also get good drama. A lot of topics get brought up here and they are handled well. The music from Jerry Goldsmith is good and pretty unique for the movie. There really isn’t much wrong with this one either. The only that might hurt the film a bit is the pace at the beginning. After the astronauts land, they stay in the desert for a little too long. The movie really doesn’t pick up until we get find vestiges of life, water, and naked men in a rated G movie. Other than that and pretty small nitpicks, this is still an awesome movie.

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Well, that wraps it up with the POTA movies. Will there be more? I honestly have no clue. WPOTA didn’t exactly do as well as Dawn box-office wise, so I don’t know what’ll come next. I honestly don’t know where they can go next. Hopefully, it isn’t another remake, but you never know these days. Whatever comes next, I hope it lives up to what’s come before. Well, I’m outta here. Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there. Don’t be ticking off any ugly looking bonobos.