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.