Favorites - Planet of the Apes Movies: Least Favorite to Favorite - Part 2

(Updated 7/24/18)
So, why didn't I split this whole thing up into three parts to begin with? I don't know. I guess I had some other things on my mind at the time. All I know is that I'm now doing it after the fact. Oh well, it's a learning experience. So, here's the new part two of my ranking of the Apes movies.

6. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes

If you’re wondering why the fifth movie was tamer, look at this one. Conquest was the fourth movie from the franchise. It takes place 18 years after Escape from the Planet of the Apes. Because of Cornelius and Zira’s arrival, all dogs and cats died. This led the governments of the world to domesticate apes and they were eventually made into slave labor. Milo and his master come to the city (what city was it?) and they get the full brunt of how this dystopian world now works. Because of a lot of sad events taking place, Milo (eventually named Caesar) starts a revolution with the apes in the city.

At this point, we get to the better films and this one doesn’t disappoint. Other than a couple of things, this is pretty good. We see what the apes’ arrival has done to the world and it looks kinda bleak. Who knew 1991 could ever look that bad? The messages presented in the movie are at full force and they still resonate today like they did back then. This movie came out around the time of the Civil Rights movement, so I can definitely see where this movie got its influences at.

The story is nice for the most part. Milo/Caesar gets put through hell as a slave. It gets worse when he finds out what happened to Amarndo (Ricardo Montalablon), his master and father figure. This has Roddy McDowell at his best. He portrayed Milo/Caesar much differently than he played Cornelius. The stuff he says throughout the movie are pretty much on point. I also thought Armando and Malcolm MacDonald (Hari Rhodes) were pretty cool. While Governor Breck (Don Murray) chewed the scenery a lot, he was a fine villain for the movie.

The look and music for the movie were pretty good. Century City was a sterile, cold place and everyone there was just about the same: cold. The makeup for the apes wasn’t always good, but it worked more than it didn’t work. The revolt at the end is pretty much the highlight of movie. Unlike Battle, this struggle was awesome to see. I think the fact that it was at night helped out too. We also have two endings to the movie because folk felt the original was too dark. While the original definitely fit the movie, I kind of like the revised one a little better.

There isn’t much wrong with the film. The runtime (86 minutes) does hurt it a little bit. Things ended up getting rushed at times. Also, while I do like the look of the movie, there are times where the budget was wearing thin a bit. Also, some of the apes didn’t look all that great. To be fair, that always happens when you get more than a few around. Other than those things and some overacting, this was a nice dark film.

5. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Next up is the movie that revitalized the franchise. This was a reboot/prequel to the original movie. It revolves around Will Rodman (James Franco) who’s trying to develop a cure for Alzheimer ’s disease. His company experiments on simians and when one looks promising, it’s accidentally killed. Will then finds out that the chimpanzee had a baby and he secretly takes it as his own. He later finds out that chimp, Caesar, has the effects of the drug that his mother was injected with. As he grows older, he becomes smarter and more intelligent than other simians. When Caesar is taken away after an incident with a neighbor, he learns about what other apes go through and stages an uprising.

RPOTA came as a surprise to me and probably everyone else. I knew about the movie but kind of disregarded it until I saw it and the buzz it was getting. This (and the later movies) took the route the last original movies did and centered on Caesar. Instead of a convoluted plot involving time travel, we get a new story for Caesar that involves science being irresponsible with new breakthroughs. The acting from some well-known folk (James Franco, David Oyelowo, John Ligthow, Freida Pinto) was pretty good. The story we get is well-told and I liked the story-arc Caesar goes through in the movie. He starts out as a domesticated chimp who becomes more jaded towards the human world and more accepting of his true roots.

One of the biggest things that easily could have failed was the fact that all of the apes were motion-captured CGI. Thankfully, the CG-rendering was really well done. The action scenes especially at the end were pretty awesome. While it was weird to have the apes be completely CG, it made a lot of sense and you get used to it over the course of the movie. It also helped that you had mo-cap king, Andy Serkis, in the role of Caesar. I also liked how the apes communicated. Even though they couldn’t talk (yet), you could tell what was being said through gestures, emotions, and sign language.

There isn’t much wrong with the movie. One criticism I do have is that the human characters can be a bit one-note. You definitely run into this with Tom Felton, aka “Homage Man,” and a couple of others. Even Franco can come off a little stale at times. Also, there are times where things can get a little rushed especially for a 100+ minute movie. Lastly, while the effects are good, there are times where they can get a little wonky. Other than those things and the jackasses of the movie, this was a good one.

4. Escape from the Planet of the Apes

Next up is the third POTA movie. If you thought they were done with the franchise after Beneath, think again! The second POTA movie did make good money, so 20th Century Fox wanted another sequel to come. Eventually, it all came together and Cornelius and Zira were made the stars for this one. In the movie, Cornelius, Zira, and an ape scientist (Milo) use Taylor’s ship (they got it out of the water somehow) to escape Earth when it exploded. The shockwave sent them back in time to 1971, two years after Taylor originally left Earth. They get questioned by the government and are ultimately made celebrities. Unfortunately, it’s not all sunshine when the government learns everything about the world they come from.

It’s safe to say that this is the second best original POTA film. You wouldn’t even realize that it’s somewhat of a revamp of the first film. They just switched the roles around (the apes are the strangers) and went with it. In fact, this movie kind of trumps the original in that it’s more faithful to the 1956 novel. The idea of the two going having a baby and going on the run came right from Pierre Boulle’s book. Plus, the apes becoming celebrities was another idea from the novel. Unfortunately, they didn’t take the ending… man, that still stings.

The story is well-told. It starts out light-hearted at the beginning but that goes away as the truth about the apes is revealed. Cornelius and Zira steal the show with every scene they’re in. Roddy McDowell and Kim Hunter worked well with one another. You get to see them at their good times and bad. Another standout character was Armando played by Ricardo Montalabon. He’s not in the movie much, but he comes in at a time where things start to get pretty dark for our two protagonists. This also has what is definitely the darkest ending of the franchise, and yes, it even trumps the world blowing up. Seeing two beloved characters get murdered and having their new son (Milo/Caesar) calling out for his mother brings some emotions.

Dr. Otto Haslein (Eric Braden) was a pretty decent villain. He’s basically Earth’s version of Doctor Zaius. He sees what the apes’ arrival could ultimately do to the world and he’s proven correct when he finds out about the future. While you don’t agree with his actions, you kind of get why he’s trying to ultimately kill the apes. Even though the movie has a real downbeat ending, it’s probably the funniest of the bunch. All of the comedy works here. I also thought the soundtrack done by Jerry Goldsmith was really good. The makeup for the apes also worked really well.

I honestly don’t have many negatives about the film. There are some history facts Cornelius gave here that don’t line up with what was established in other two. While Cornelius and Zira looked good, the other simians of the 1970’s looked horrible. You could definitely tell that they were monkey suits. It would have also been nice to get more of Doctor Milo since he’s killed off early in the movie. Other than those things and some nitpicks, this was a pretty good one.

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Well, that should settle it. Now, I kind of feel better. I just wish I split this list off when I first posted it. Next up (sort of) is the last three picks.