I was born in 1966, so I didn't really become aware of the Planet of the Apes franchise until I was perhaps 7 or 8, about 5 years after the original movie premiered. However, it was still a real cultural phenomena around that time, and there were lots of toys, comic books, coloring books, sticker books, etc. etc. which I collected hungrily. And all this without having ever seen an Apes movie in the theater, even the last couple, Conquest and Battle. I saw the entire series on television. Even so, "Apes" was the centerpiece of my fantasy life as a young child, until Star Wars came along to replace it.
The first film definitely remains the best. Plenty of people have had their say on it already and I really don't have anything to add. I do want to say, however, that I disagree with those who automatically trash the sequels. IMO all of them were very well done and quite thought-provoking, if a bit heavy-handed on the social commentary at times.
One way in which the films are seriously dated, however, is that they present the Chimpanzees as the pacifists and the Gorillas as the aggressive, warlike types. Since then, of course, researchers have shown that Chimpanzees are far more aggressive and violent than Gorillas. (And chimpanzees are also more closely related to man than gorillas.) SPOILER: One thing I think lots of fans of the series have missed is that the character of Caesar is a wild card. He's a savior, a Christ figure. I've seen many post Battle for the Planet of the Apes timelines that lead to essentially the same future Taylor encounters in the year 3950.
But Caesar's "purpose" is to be a savior. In the original history, it is the Gorilla, Aldo, who first speaks and then leads the Apes in rebellion against their human oppressors. In "Battle," Aldo is subordinate to Caesar, and Caesar kills him at the end of the movie. By bringing Apes and Humans together as equals (whereas Aldo probably made them slaves and humiliated them, then drove them out), Caesar introduces an element of hope by, at the end of the film, bringing Apes and Humans together as equals. The threat of the Earth's destruction via the Alpha-Omega Bomb remains, but there is also the possibility that Caesar's presence has introduced a subtle change that will alter the course of the future.
The first film definitely remains the best. Plenty of people have had their say on it already and I really don't have anything to add. I do want to say, however, that I disagree with those who automatically trash the sequels. IMO all of them were very well done and quite thought-provoking, if a bit heavy-handed on the social commentary at times.
One way in which the films are seriously dated, however, is that they present the Chimpanzees as the pacifists and the Gorillas as the aggressive, warlike types. Since then, of course, researchers have shown that Chimpanzees are far more aggressive and violent than Gorillas. (And chimpanzees are also more closely related to man than gorillas.) SPOILER: One thing I think lots of fans of the series have missed is that the character of Caesar is a wild card. He's a savior, a Christ figure. I've seen many post Battle for the Planet of the Apes timelines that lead to essentially the same future Taylor encounters in the year 3950.
But Caesar's "purpose" is to be a savior. In the original history, it is the Gorilla, Aldo, who first speaks and then leads the Apes in rebellion against their human oppressors. In "Battle," Aldo is subordinate to Caesar, and Caesar kills him at the end of the movie. By bringing Apes and Humans together as equals (whereas Aldo probably made them slaves and humiliated them, then drove them out), Caesar introduces an element of hope by, at the end of the film, bringing Apes and Humans together as equals. The threat of the Earth's destruction via the Alpha-Omega Bomb remains, but there is also the possibility that Caesar's presence has introduced a subtle change that will alter the course of the future.