Films like Battle for the Planet of the Apes.

Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) reads as Sombre, breathless, extreme action / sci-fi, inventive in texture. Ambivalent, epic, measured. Every film below is ranked by distance across the same twelve hand-scored axes — with what it keeps, and where it walks away. Not a genre dump.

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) poster
1. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes1972

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) poster
2. Escape from the Planet of the Apes1971

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) poster
3. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace1987

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes; trades toward a relentless forward drive.

Moonraker (1979) poster
4. Moonraker1979

Keeps the world-sized stakes and the white-knuckle intensity; trades toward a cold, bleak undertow.

Masters of the Universe (1987) poster
5. Masters of the Universe1987

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Conan the Destroyer (1984) poster
6. Conan the Destroyer1984

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes; trades toward a relentless forward drive.

Johnny Mnemonic (1995) poster
7. Johnny Mnemonic1995

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes; trades toward a relentless forward drive.

Harmagedon (1983) poster
8. Harmagedon1983

Keeps the world-sized stakes and the documentary-plain realism; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (1988) poster
9. Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack1988

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Toward the Terra (1980) poster
10. Toward the Terra1980

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

The Terminator (1984) poster
11. The Terminator1984

Keeps the world-sized stakes and the white-knuckle intensity — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Megazone 23 (1985) poster
12. Megazone 231985

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the documentary-plain realism; trades toward a world-sized stakes.

These are Battle for the Planet of the Apes’s neighbours — where are yours?

Rate five posters and the same twelve axes read you — then tonight’s pick comes from your own centre of taste.

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