All 9 Planet of the Apes movies ranked from worst to best

4. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for Planet of the Apes are both very similar stories in that both have Caesar being held down and out only to rise up and overcome. This one sees a group of humans under the leadership of Gary Oldman, trying to work with the apes and live in peace so they can get a dam working in order to power their complex. That is of course until Caesar is overtaken by Koba, a treacherous ape who hates humans and believes that Caesar loves them more than apes.

Once power is restored, Oldman’s team is able to contact the military for backup against Koba and the ape onslaught that is about to fall upon them – setting up things for War for Planet of the Apes.

Caesar and Koba eventually battle for control of the ape civilization, with of course, Caesar winning. I bring up Caesar so much because Andy Serkis delivers such an amazing performance behind all of that CGI and motion capture it is a shame that he is so overlooked when it comes to Oscar time in Hollywood.

There is a lot of heart in this film, but just not enough. Instead of James Franco in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, we get a surrogate in Jason Clarke that just doesn’t have the same kind of feel or tone. A solid entry, but missing just that little something to make it a true contender for the top spot.