James Gunn Names the Pop Movie Trilogy Everyone’s Sleeping On: “Most Underrated Pop Films of All”

James Gunn recently sat down for an interview with the French outlet Konbini, and during the conversation, he opened up about the movies that have inspired him over the years. He talked about his all-time favorite films, some recent ones he loves, and what’s influenced his new Superman movie.

While Gunn said he’s always changing his personal rankings, one thing he seemed sure about was that the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy doesn’t get the credit it deserves.

“I like all these Planet of the Apes movies,” Gunn said. “The new Planet of the Apes movies, most underrated like pop films of all. Especially the first one and then the Matt Reeves’ two movies.”

The trilogy started with Rise of the Planet of the Apes in 2011, directed by Rupert Wyatt, and continued with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), both directed by Matt Reeves.

Gunn praised Reeves not only for the Apes films but for his overall approach to making blockbuster movies. He explained that he admires directors who can deliver big crowd-pleasers while still keeping them personal and meaningful.

“Between Cloverfield and the two Planet of the Apes movies that Matt Reeves did, the reasons I like talking to Matt so much… I think it’s really important that there are filmmakers out there who make spectacle films that get people to theaters but still give a s*** and are doing something personal with them,”* Gunn said. “And I think, you know, Matt Reeves, Greta Gerwig, Ryan Coogler — there are some of the few people that are doing that. And so I really always respected Matt Reeves for that.”

When Reeves stepped in to direct the second and third films in the trilogy, the tone shifted in a powerful way. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was praised for being much more than just another action movie. It showed the fragile peace between humans and apes starting to fall apart and tackled serious ideas like trust, leadership, and survival. Critics loved the emotional weight of the story, the believable world-building, and the realistic motion-capture performance by Andy Serkis as Caesar.

Then came War for the Planet of the Apes, which many people saw as a bold and surprisingly deep ending to the trilogy. It focused even more on Caesar as a tragic and heroic figure, and it wasn’t afraid to slow things down and explore big emotional moments. The movie drew comparisons to classic war dramas and was celebrated for its themes of loss, revenge, and hope. The visuals were also a big deal — reviewers praised the special effects for making the apes look completely lifelike without losing their emotional expressions.

Even though the trilogy got strong reviews across the board, it never quite reached the same level of mainstream popularity as other big franchises. That’s probably why Gunn sees it as underrated. These movies had big action, amazing visuals, and deep, human stories, the kind of filmmaking he clearly respects.

So if you’ve skipped the Planet of the Apes reboot series, James Gunn thinks you’re missing out. And considering how much he cares about mixing heart with spectacle, he might just be onto something.

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