The original "Planet of the Apes" movie of 1968, based on the science-fantasy novel by Pierre Boulle, dropped a couple of astronauts onto an unknown planet where evolution had worked out backwards: Humans were feral and hunted by the ruling species, monkeys. It was only the film's killer reveal at the end — a trick much imitated since — in which you found out the planet was actually a postapocalyptic future Earth; it took three more sequels before "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes" revealed how and why the primates overthrew mankind.
This is where the series reboot "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" chooses to begin. The time is now, the place is San Francisco, and apes are still caged and used in laboratory testing by humans who are indifferent to their suffering. This sense that mankind has had it coming is the most notable holdover from the original, along with a certain ape named Caesar, destined to lead his species to freedom.
The original "Apes" series was taken fairly seriously at the time, but like all special-effects-driven cinema, it looks increasingly camp with age. Tim Burton, much to his regret, zeroed in on this aspect with his rather too arch remake in 2001, which turned out to be quite unpopular, especially among fans of the originals. Director Rupert Wyatt takes the opposite approach with "Rise": he treats the material seriously, and is fortunate to have a script that allows the viewer to do the same.