[Hugh Jboobs]

Having seen bits and bobs of it over the years, I finally sat down to watch the original 1968 Planet of the Apes yesterday. I already knew the twist at the end, but enjoyed the film.

Anyway, I did a bit of googling and I see there are five films in total in this series (not counting the remake or the most recent "Rise" film).

So I wondered - are the rest of these films worth watching? I had a brief read of the synopsis of each of them and the ideas/themes/plotlines sound interesting.

So should I give them a try, or are they not worth bothering with?

[CoolioD1]

I loved Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, that ones pretty similar to Rise of the Apes. Also thought Beneath the Planet of the Apes was decent. The other two are awful though. I'd skip those.

[Orangemaid]

was it with Charlton Heston in it..yeah i seen those ones too..I remember when i was younger collecting those cards you got from newsagents lol

[Alrightmate]

Yes, I think they're all worth watching.
They vary in quality but they're still good enjoyable films when taken as a series. They all play a part in the story arc.

It's not like Police Academy 6, or Friday the 13th Part 15 or whatever it got to. The first one is the best but there are a couple I think you're sure to enjoy and are pretty good films.
I can definitely say that I thought that at least 2 or 3 of the sequels were good to watch. Although a couple of them appear to have been done on the cheap compared to the original.

[Gulftastic]

The first is by far the best, and they get worse as they go on, but 'Beneath....' is still a very good film, with some memorable images, a lot of which you've probably seen referenced in other stuff.

[Zero gravitas]

OP, please watch the whole series because they are all worth watching, even if the odd one doesn't tickle your fancy.

As you watch the two later films you'll get the references, and there are other references in other films too, so well worth a few pennies to get em.

[JoLuc]

better than the tv series for sure.

[Orangemaid]

i remember i had the monkey ape mask when i was younger..My brother didnt like it when i wore it, so had to bin it..he cried but he was a toddler at the time

[parttimer]

The latter ones are a bit weak, but they are all worth watching.
"better than the tv series for sure"
Very true!

[porkpie]

You should buy them on Bluray to see them at their best.
I find Beneath is weaker than either Escape or Conquest .

Ensure you get one of the recent releases to see Conquest as it was intended to be seen.
Its a grim gritty violent story that shocked preview audiences so much that Fox edited it down and changed the ending ,and called Roddy McDowall back in for some voiceover work too.

Until the Bluray release we only ever saw the watered down theatrical version which has a real let down of an ending , but once you've seen the directors cut you'll never go back to the other version.

Battle also had some additional scenes but they were not that good and on the UK releases you can't view them within the film anyway.

The original 5 film Bluray boxset was recently down to under £15 - don't miss out on that bargain.

[Orangemaid]

i love OP's username..makes me laugh

[mike65]

The third film is the best sequel and a small delight (its as much a light satire as it is action/sci-fi), Beneath... is pretty gloomy and dark the other (last) two are only slightly better than reading a Planet of the Apes Marvel comic.

[Alrightmate]

Originally Posted by porkpie

You should buy them on Bluray to see them at their best.
I find Beneath is weaker than either Escape or Conquest .

Ensure you get one of the recent releases to see Conquest as it was intended to be seen.
Its a grim gritty violent story that shocked preview audiences so much that Fox edited it down and changed the ending ,and called Roddy McDowall back in for some voiceover work too.

Until the Bluray release we only ever saw the watered down theatrical version which has a real let down of an ending , but once you've seen the directors cut you'll never go back to the other version.

Battle also had some additional scenes but they were not that good and on the UK releases you can't view them within the film anyway.

The original 5 film Bluray boxset was recently down to under £15 - don't miss out on that bargain.

That is a very good bargain.
I might have to buy that blu-ray boxset myself.

[JEFF62]

What I do remember is each film had a different certificate and one film would be family friendly and the next would be adults only! The original film was a PG then Beneath was AA certificate which is like a 15. The fourth film was also 15 rated but the middle film Escape was a U cert! Then fifth was a PG. Fine if you are over 15 but for a 12 year old trying to follow the saga its a bit odd one film aiming for family viewing and the next kids are not allowed. Very unusual for a franchise to do this. I remember my local cinema showing all five films over a few weeks after they were all released. I was 12 at the time and wanted to see all five films but couldnt get into see two fo them.

But back on topic personally I really enjoyed Escape and the original film. Conquest was a lot darker which did explain its more adult certificate. The fifth one is completely forgettable. I dont remember anything about it.

[Rhodes666]

Yes watch them all,u can pick up the boxset very cheap,most of them have returning actors and some kind of continuty lol i found Conquest very good and quite similar to the new Rise,Escape is the worst one i think,it boggles the mind to think how they managed to repair the underwater ship lol

[Alrightmate]

I've just been checking Wikipedia to remind myself about all the sequels and what they were about.
In hindsight I like them all, and they all advance the story arc in a logical progressive way.
The stories for them are pretty sound and make sense.

The Conquest of The Planet of The Apes storyline is actually quite similar in large part to the Will Smith film version of 'I Robot'.

I actually enjoy them not only as entertaining films but there are also subtexts to the sci-fi action elements in that they have allegorical themes within them which can make you think about real life social issues, which is always a bonus and adds more richness than just having straightforward action entertainment alone.

I've just checked Amazon to find a price for the blu-ray boxed set and it is indeed only £14.99.
So even if you're not that keen on all of them that's a great deal.
I really do think I myself am going to buy it.

[Metal Mickey]

They're quite an unusual series, inasmuch as all the fims have a slightly different "flavour" to one another, and it's very clever how they end up looping round to meet each other... compared to most sequels these days, which tend to be disguised remakes, it was quite bold to do this.

I really like "Beneath", the mutants really scared me when I was small!! "Escape" & "Conquest" are both good, too, but "Battle" is pretty poor and was obviously done on a budget...

[Denholm]

The first Planet of The Apes is superb,one of the best films of it's genre.Of the four later films,the first 3 are good and worth viewing.The last one,the fifth film is not even worth looking at.

[porkpie]

Originally Posted by Denholm

The first Planet of The Apes is superb,one of the best films of it's genre.Of the four later films,the first 3 are good and worth viewing.The last one,the fifth film is not even worth looking at.

Unfortunately the budget was slashed so the original intended film was never made .
They really would have been better off going straight to the tv series after the 4th film as Battle is little better than a tv movie

[Listentome]

I enjoy all the films in the original series. There is a very interesting play with time and changing history.

[porkpie]

Originally Posted by Listentome

I enjoy all the films in the original series. There is a very interesting play with time and changing history.

Undoubtedly one of the most entertaining film series ever made.
But you can't look too closely at the plots .
The logic behind the apes returning to Earth in Taylors ship for Escape is hard to swallow and some of the details that Cornelius gives in Escape about the rise of the Apes contradicts what follows in Conquest and Battle

I even enjoy the tv series too

[Listentome]

Originally Posted by porkpie

Undoubtedly one of the most entertaining film series ever made.
But you can't look too closely at the plots .
The logic behind the apes returning to Earth in Taylors ship for Escape is hard to swallow and some of the details that Cornelius gives in Escape about the rise of the Apes contradicts what follows in Conquest and Battle

I even enjoy the tv series too

That's what I mean about changing history. Effectively when they apes travel back in time and it is their offspring who liberates the apes, they changed the original timeline and how the apes rose to power. Changing dates etc.

If you include the television series, that seems to be set in the original timeline (though I think there are still some date anomalies).

[Alrightmate]

I agree Listentome, the back-story for Battle for The Planet of the Apes is about whether time can be changed or not by settling differences between different creeds and species.

That was the point of the very last frame of the final film. Which in some way mirrored the final scene in Planet of the Apes.
Destiny was the key feature of both the original and final films. Although the final film may have flaws the closing scenes of it were a very nice touch which brought the series to a fitting bookended conclusion.

[porkpie]

Originally Posted by Listentome

That's what I mean about changing history. Effectively when they apes travel back in time and it is their offspring who liberates the apes, they changed the original timeline and how the apes rose to power. Changing dates etc.

If you include the television series, that seems to be set in the original timeline (though I think there are still some date anomalies).

The tv show appears initially to be a separate entity all by itself set a long time after the first film but IIRC there is just a single comment that mentions advanced humans having been before .
But its all nonsense really as the humans in the early films were mute but in the tv series they talk so if we're trying to keep it altogether the tv series must be set in an alternate timeline where humans could speak

[Gort]

Originally Posted by porkpie

The tv show appears initially to be a separate entity all by itself set a long time after the first film but IIRC there is just a single comment that mentions advanced humans having been before .
But its all nonsense really as the humans in the early films were mute but in the tv series they talk so if we're trying to keep it altogether the tv series must be set in an alternate timeline where humans could speak

Actually, time wise, the TV series is set some hundreds of years before the original film. That would sort of explain, with a little stretching, why the humans could speak so eloquently. Also, shortly after the original film, Beneath comes along, and we all know what happens at the end of that! So, the TV series would have some difficulty coming after those two films. However, you could also argue that it was set in some alternate timeline. Oh, what fun can be had of suspension of disbelief.

Oh, and the TV series, while not being anywhere near the quality of the original film or even the better of the sequels (ie, not Battle), is still fun to watch.