One of the most influential science-fiction movies of all time is the original Planet of the Apes. While the franchise has evolved in some very intriguing ways over the years, the first movie from 1968 is still a brilliant story of astronauts finding themselves on a planet in which apes are the dominant species.
The concept of apes and human changing positions in society is very compelling, especially with the apes' treatment of the humans as the less intelligent species. But which of the main characters in the movie, humans and apes, are actually intelligent — and which are better kept as pets?
Nova
The character of Nova is a bit of a bizarre one in this story. She is brought in as a mate for the human hero Taylor (Charlton Heston) and she eventually becomes his love interest. However, she is also an example of how the humans in this world have become more like animals without thoughts of their own.
Nova is a character without any real agency and is sort of just brought along through the story aimlessly. She doesn't even really seem to have an interest in Taylor aside from being forced to be with him. She is just there to be blank-faced and mute for the whole movie.
Lucius
Lucius is one of the ape characters and a good example of how not all of them are intelligent beings. Just like humans, some apes are geniuses and others fall short. Lucius fits into the latter category.
He is introduced as the nephew of the ape scientist Zira who helps Taylor escape his prison by tricking the gullible guard. However, that is where Lucius' cleverness and usefulness end. While he accompanies the heroes on their mission into the Forbidden Zone, all he does is ask pointless questions and is somehow surprised that the bad guys keep doing bad things. He makes for a pretty annoying character.
Landon
The human characters are a group of astronauts whose long deep space voyage ends with them crashing on this strange planet. Despite being qualified enough for the longest space exploration in mankind's history, they aren't exactly the smartest group of guys. That is especially true of Landon.
Landon surely knew that he would be going on this mission that would end with him landing on some strange planet, but he seems totally bewildered by everything once they get there. He needs everything to be explained to him, from the fact that the spaceship crashed to the fact that they are hundreds of years in the future. It's surprising a spaceman could be so clueless.
Dodge
Dodge is another member of the human crew who is at least a little more aware than Landon. At the very least, he keeps his mouth shut and doesn't need to have every piece of information spoonfed to him. However, like Landon, he shows incredibly poor judgment for someone who was smart enough for space exploration.
Dodge is good about keeping his head down and doing what needs to be done, but when he finds scarecrows, clearly built by whatever is living on his planet, he yells out to his comrades without thinking of the potential danger. He also jumps into a lake with the others without considering if water on this planet might be poisonous to humans.
Taylor
Taylor is a pretty funny hero for this movie. He is a man of science and an explorer, but with Charlton Heston playing him, he is also a tough guy and swaggering hero. It makes for a strange mix while also making Taylor seem somewhere between dumb and clever.
Along with his human comrades, he makes some poor decisions when he finds himself on a strange planet. He also treats the situation with indifference and even mocks Landon for being concerned. However, once he is captured by the apes, Taylor is able to use his wits to prove himself an intelligent being, reason with the more thoughtful apes, and escape. He even manages to outsmart the wise Dr. Zaius.
Cornelius
The movie's Twilight Zone-esque story is clever in how it mirrors human society with the ape society, including all the prejudices and ignorance. Cornelius is one of the smarter apes in the story but one who is not respected by the others for his beliefs that humans are smarter than is generally believed.
He sees something in the humans that the other apes are unwilling to even consider. When arguing his points to the other apes, they appear out-of-touch and foolish compared to Cornelius' advanced way of thinking. He is even able to track down evidence of the first humans.
Zira
Zira is Cornelius's partner and is even more open-minded than he is. When she meets Taylor for the first time, she is able to see aspects of him that suggest more intelligence than the average human, even while all the other apes just see a dumb animal.
She works with Taylor, encouraging him to communicate and defending him to others. She pushes for apes to look beyond their staunch and narrow-minded beliefs. While this often makes her an outsider and gets her in trouble, she is always more concerned with getting answers and learning more.
Dr. Zaius
There is nothing scarier than a villain who is the most intelligent character in the story. Dr. Zaius is not a powerful enemy, nor is he especially violent; he just knows certain truths about the world that he wants to keep a secret at any cost.
While some of the older apes who run the society are totally ignorant to the truths about humans, Dr. Zaius only acts like he thinks humans are dumb creatures. He explains to Taylor that he is well aware of the capabilities of humanity as well as their history on this planet. But he sees them as a destructive force that will bring down their society if they are able to take control again. While his methods may still be immoral, his reasoning is quite sound.