20 must-watch movies about apes

While Rise of the Planet of the Apes showed how apes became intelligent and focused on Caesar’s leading an uprising, Dawn shows what happens in the aftermath of a pandemic that decimates humanity. While Caesar contends with the malevolent bonobo Koba, who leads a rebellion from within the ape ranks, he also has to deal with a group of humans ripped apart by their own rivalries. This film marks a change in the trajectory of the series, depicting a liminal moment in ape society when their hegemony is not yet assured and in which the future is still very much up for grabs. 

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is, by most measures, the weakest of the five original films, with a noticeably smaller budget and a screenplay with some notable gaps. Nevertheless, it manages to be remarkably thought-provoking, with its story about Caesar and his efforts to build a stable society in which humans and apes can exist in a very fragile peace. However, he is repeatedly thwarted by his own kind and a band of mutated humans who want to see apes eliminated. It’s a thought-provoking look at what a post-apocalyptic world might look like, and it ends with a moment of sad ambiguity, as it remains to be seen whether Caesar’s efforts will bear fruit or whether humans and apes must always remain opposed.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes, the second entry in the franchise begins some time after the first, with another astronaut crash-landing on the same planet as Charlton Heston's Taylor. James Franciscus' Brent, like his predecessor, finds himself swept up in various conflicts roiling in ape society. Still, matters are complicated further when they all encounter mutant humans worshiping an atomic bomb and living in the irradiated ruins of New York City. The film is remarkably bleak, particularly the ending, which in some ways manages to surpass even its predecessor in terms of shock value. 

Video games have proved to be a particularly rich source of inspiration for Hollywood adaptations, including the film Rampage, based on the long-running video game series of the same name. While Dwayne Johnson is the film’s human star, the real central attraction is the mutant albino gorilla George, who plays a key role in defeating several other mutant creatures as they threaten Chicago. What the movie lacks in original ideas, it more than makes up for in sheer fun CGI spectacle, and it’s the kind of movie that eagerly invites its audience to just sit back and enjoy the conspicuous destruction on offer.

Dian Fossey was one of the most extraordinary and courageous naturalists of her generation, and she is rightly famous for her tireless work on behalf of mountain gorillas. Directed by Michale Apted and starring Sigourney Weaver as Fossey, Gorillas in the Mist is based on her memoir of the same name. This is rightly regarded as one of the most extraordinary roles of Weaver’s storied career, and she endows Fossey with the steely strength and determination for which she was celebrated in her lifetime. Watching the film, one is left in awe at the majesty of some of humanity’s closest relatives. 

The third entry in the rebooted Planet of the Apes  franchise is arguably the most mature of the three, focusing on Caesar’s attempt to save his kind from the murderous intentions of the Colonel (Woody Harrelson), a human who wishes to eliminate all apes before they can take over the world. It’s a brutal film in many ways, drawing attention to the sacrifices Caesar has to make if he wants to keep his people free from death or enslavement at the hands of humanity’s last, desperate dregs. Andy Serkis delivers one of his best motion capture performances as the ape leader, and Woody Harrelson makes for a very terrifying (yet compelling) villain. 

The MonsterVerse has slowly but surely proved that it has staying power, and it isn’t afraid to lean into the pulpy nature of its mythos. This is particularly true in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which sees the two title characters join forces to take on an evil giant ape, the Skar King, who aims to take over the surface. The film leans quite heavily into the CGI, but there’s still something exciting about seeing two giant creatures like Kong and Godzilla team up to fight a common enemy rather than continuing to fight against one another. Moreover, the Skar King makes for an excellent villain, with his emaciated malevolence as a potent threat to life on Earth. 

Roddy McDowall’s Caesar is the heart and soul of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, the fourth entry in the original series. When his adopted father is killed, Caesar is set on a path of revolution, as he first recognizes the enslavement of his fellow simians and then conspires with them to bring about the end of human domination. This is a fascinating film that is very much of its time (the early 1970s), with clear references to societal unrest. Though the production values show a marked decline from the earlier entries in the series, it still makes for compelling and, at times, disturbing viewing, sowing the seeds for a planet ruled over by apes.

The original Planet of the Apes film was remarkable for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the fact that it spawned four sequels. The second of these, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, follows chimp scientists Cornelius and Zira as they are blasted back to Earth’s past, where they encounter a planet occupied by humans. Though the film has some silly moments, it is arguably one of the most tragic of the series, as the two pacifist chimps find themselves hunted by those humans who believe they pose a threat to humanity’s continued dominance of the planet. Like the best entries in the series, it asks what exactly constitutes personhood, and the answers it provides aren’t always the most comfortable ones.

Some of the best movies about apes are understandably dramas, but it’s also worth paying attention to some of the great documentaries that have been made about these extraordinary creatures. Disney’s Chimpanzee is one such, and it’s worth a watch for its fine cinematography and the extent to which it provides insight into the remarkably complex lives of some of humanity’s closest relatives. While the extent to which it anthropomorphizes its subject might be a bit much for some viewers, for others, it will be enlightening to see the extent to which many aspects of chimp behavior and social organization mirror humanity’s own.

Having established himself as a director of blockbusters thanks to the success of The Lord of the Rings,  Peter Jackson turned his attention to his remake of the classic King Kong. While this might have been a risky move, it certainly pays off, particularly since he employed the talents of Andy Serkis to portray the giant ape. The film is emotionally resonant, particularly since Serkis does an extraordinary job imbuing Kong with his personality and interior life. The film is a testament to Serkis’ talents as a motion capture performance artist and Jackson’s skills as a director capable of imbuing even a CGI spectacle with genuine heart and emotional stakes.

Congo is a bit of a fascinating film. While it may not be the best adaptation of a Michael Crichton novel, it nevertheless has its charms as an action-adventure flick from the 1990s, focusing on an expedition that unexpectedly encounters a murderous group of gray gorillas. There are certainly times when it veers into the outright ridiculous, but this is precisely what gives it its uniquely pulpy pleasure. Moreover, the practical effects used to create the murderous gray apes are truly terrifying, and they are a reminder that Hollywood used to rely more on such methods rather than CGI.

Mighty Joe Young is the epitome of the adventure films that were such a key part of the ‘90s film landscape. Its title character is, as one might imagine, a giant mountain gorilla who grows to giant proportions but who, thankfully, can rely on a pair of humans-played by Bill Paxton and Charlize Theron — who protect him against a villainous poacher. It might not always be subtle regarding its environmentalist message, but something is endearing about its ‘90s-era optimism. And, like all the best big-screen apes, whether produced by animatronics or CGI, Joe is a fully-developed character in his own right.

Even though many people like to bemoan the state of Hollywood today — in which sequels and reboots are seemingly ubiquitous — this isn’t the first time the industry has sought to exploit its own popular products. Son of Kong, for example, seeks to capitalize on the success of the first Kong film with a story about yet another journey to Skull Island, though this time, the story focuses on Kong’s son rather than the ape himself. This entry in the franchise is much lighter in tone than its predecessor, but there’s still something remarkably appealing about the title character. The film’s ending, however, is arguably even more depressing than the first film’s.

Planet of the Apes remains one of Hollywood’s most extraordinary franchises, somehow capable of being successfully resurrected for different periods and different cultural moments. In 2011, it got another lease on life with the prequel Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which details the rise of an ape named Caesar (played in motion capture by Andy Serkis), who gains advanced intelligence as a result of an experimental drug and ends up leading an ape rebellion. The film is as thought-provoking as it is visually compelling and groundbreaking, forcing the audience to contend with the idea and challenges inherent in great ape personhood. It also brought the franchise into a promising new era, which continues to the present.  

It might be going a bit far to say that 1986’s Link is a great film, but it’s certainly entertaining. After all, what’s not to love about a movie about a super-intelligent chimp who goes on a murderous rampage? Though it hits all of the notes one might expect of a killer animal film, it also has a remarkably intelligent script, and it keeps the viewer engaged from the first moment to the last. Moreover, like the best films about apes, it also forces the (presumably human) viewer to think more carefully about the nature of the dominance of the human race and whether it is, in fact, as inevitable as it sometimes seems.

Jordan Peele has repeatedly shown his remarkable skill as a director of thought-provoking horror, and in Nope, he turns his attention to the alien invasion subgenre, turning it inside out and on its head. One of the key characters in the film, Jupe, once starred in a sitcom starring an ape named Gordy who, one terrible day, went wild and brutally mauled several members of the cast. The scene in which this takes place is one of the most unsettling in the entire film, particularly since a young Jupe is reduced to cowering under a table, hoping he will avoid the rampaging ape’s jaws. It’s a tense, taut scene that dovetails nicely with the film’s main story.

The 2010s and 2020s have proved to be a remarkably fertile period for monster movies, with the MonsterVerse continuing to build up an entire cinematic universe populated with beings like Kong. In 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, the giant ape got yet another new lease on life, though this time, the action is set during the 1970s. While the characters of the film can seem a bit thin at times, everyone knows the real attraction is the title character, who is given a bit of a redesign. Indeed, the film manages to wow with the richness of its CGI, which renders Kong into a fully realized character in his own right rather than just another cinematic monster.

Few ape movies are as famous as the original King Kong, which remains a horror and adventure filmmaking masterpiece. There’s something remarkably resonant about its story of a giant ape essentially kidnapped from his home and brought to New York City to be a spectacle, as well as his affection for a young human woman. Even though special effects have changed a great deal in the intervening 90 years, Kong remains quite a piece of stop-motion, a testament to a time when Hollywood was still willing to take at least a few risks. Most importantly, perhaps, its ending remains as tragic as when the film was first released. 

Released in 1968, Planet of the Apes has come to be regarded as one of the best and most influential science fiction films ever made. At the center of the film is Charlton Heston’s Taylor, an astronaut who finds himself on a mysterious planet where apes have built a society while humans are little more than feral beasts. As the film unfolds, he soon finds himself caught up in various conflicts going on within ape society. Like all the best sci-fi movies, Planet of the Apes forces viewers to think about their place in the species hierarchy. It’s really the ending, however, which cements this film’s place in the canon of sci-fi, and it’s a moment that has achieved cinematic immortality.