The 10 Planet of the Apes Movies, Ranked
Where does Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes stack up in the simian film series?
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There’s no question that there’s a hierarchy among movie franchises. At the top, of course, are Star Wars and James Bond. At the bottom of the cinematic abyss, you’ll find the Twilights, the Sharknados, the various Revenge of the Nerds romps, and the collected works of Jason Voorhees. But things start to get interesting in the middle of the curve. Because it’s there, slightly above Godzilla and a rung or two below Star Trek, that you’ll find the Planet of the Apes movies.
Loosely adapted from French author Pierre Boulle’s 1963 sci-fi novel, the first Planet of the Apes gave the world the simian sadist Dr. Zaius, a leathery-chested Charlton Heston, and a mind-blowing twist ending that could have only come from the fevered brain of Twilight Zone mastermind Rod Serling. In the 56 years since then, the series has cycled through sequels, sidequels, reboots, and preboots, with wild swings in quality. Still, I’d argue that this is the rare franchise where even the worst installments are pretty great in a Mystery Science Theater sort of way.
Now, with the arrival of the tenth and latest chapter, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, I decided to spend the week rewatching the entire saga (nice work if you can get it!) and ranking the films from best to worst. Where did the latest entry land? Read on to find out…
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