Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a great addition to the franchise.  It stays true to the cannon of the original film, and does a good job of explaining how the apes gained intelligence and started the fall of humanity.  It even showed Charleton Heston heading off for the first manned mission to mars in news clips on TVs.

As mentioned in the original movie, the first and greatest of the intelligent apes was Caesar.  This movie centers on him, his development, and how he turns from the fun loving chimp to the angry revolutionist he becomes.  They do a great job of conveying his thoughts without words, although some times they have to resort to sign language with subtitles.  The CG in this movie is pretty impressive and the apes are very expressive.

The premise of the movie is that Gen*Sys corporation is experimenting with a new drug on chimps.  A drug that is designed to help Alzheimers victims regain their mental abilities.  The lead researcher (played by James Franco) is very passionate about success since his father (played excellently by John Lithgow) is suffering from the disease.  It's this drug that helps to create Caesar and unfortunately kicks off the chain of events leading to the fall of humanity and ape dominance.

I enjoyed the movie thoroughly, with only one real exception.  A single scene with a very forced line: "Get your paws off me, you damned dirty ape."  It seemed so out of place.  I know it's a nod to the original movie, but unnecessary and uncharacteristic in its delivery.  I found it hard to believe that character would speak like that in the heat of the moment.

The Good:Well structured, believable story that stays true to the original.  Expressive apes.  John Lithgow.
The Bad:That signature line
The Ugly:Wrecking a poor defenseless Ford Mustang.  Repeatedly.  

Fans of the series should definitely catch this movie!