The original Planet of the Apes starring former NRA spokesman Charlton Heston is probably one of the most famous movies ever made, mostly thanks to that famously heart wrenching ending. The franchise as a whole is a fun and compelling adventure that includes some good movies and some utterly terrible ones. Even if the makeup looks a bit dated, we still look back with fondness at the films and it’s never a bad moment you stumble upon one of the movies whilst channel surfing.

In 2001, Tim Burton was hired to reboot the franchise and delivered a horrendous version of the original film. It made absolutely no sense and shat on the franchise as a whole. Even the film’s lead, Mark Wahlberg, admitted it just wasn’t a good movie. So when they announced another reboot in 2011, needless to say we didn’t really expect much from the film.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes came out, and all our fears were immediately swept away. Rupert Wyatt managed to create a genuine dramatic adventure with the film and a genuine hero out of a motion-captured ape. The film had some terrific set pieces and the first time the lead monkey Caesar speaks became a powerful WTF moment for audiences around the world. The film was an immediate (and somewhat surprising) success, and it became clear that a sequel was coming. For once, a sequel was exciting news because the original film was a great movie.  

In 2014, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was released, this time helmed by Matt Reeves (known for Cloverfield and the adequate remake Let Me In). Caesar, interpreted by Andy Serkis (who is motion capture royalty), was clearly the lead of this film and the emotional connection for the audience. It was a very solid post-apocalyptic film, with great action pieces and a lot of heart. The only problem with the new Apes franchise is the interchangeable human characters. Since the apes are the stars of this show, they feel more real the other characters, but it seems like the third movie could change that a quite a bit.
 
War for the Planet of the Apes, with Reeves directing once again, promises an all out war between apes and humans. It looks dark, violent and reminiscent of some of the best war movies such as Platoon or Full Metal Jacket. Also, it appears that for once they tried to create a real human antagonist for Caesar, and cast one of the coolest actors alive, the one and only Woody Harrelson.
 
It’s safe to say that this movie will be one of the absolute must sees next summer, and we all know it’ll probably mean the end of the human race and the beginning of Caesar’s rule. We’ll collectively find out  on July 14, 2017.
 
Watch the War for the Planet of the Apes trailer here.