Okay, so with Rise of the Planet of the Apes and with the movies that followed it, what we have is not just a prequel story, but a complete re-imagining of the original saga.
And as such, we can also reconsider its most fundamental purpose, its basic themes and meanings; starting with a question that might seem too obvious to even ask, but which I do think is too often taken for granted when we talk about the new movies, and that is: why apes?
I mean, think about it — if science fiction serves to hold up a mirror to ourselves, to our world and our humanity, then what do the apes reveal? What do they signify?
This is definitely not to say that a science fiction concept always has to be a direct allegory; but usually when we're presented with a concept like this we can make some symbolic connection at least, draw some line back to the real world.
Take for example how Avatar's colonization of the world of the Na' vi has clear parallels with the real world rise of industrialization and its implications for nature and for indigenous people.
Or how District 9 explores segregation, xenophobia and the treatment of refugees through an alien invasion story.
Or how the orcs in Bright are a subtle metaphor for… okay maybe not that one.
The original Planet of the Apes movies were also more obvious in this sense, as they more directly presented the ape society as just being a stand-in for human civilization.
In the second movie for example, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, there are some clear symbolic connections with the at the time ongoing Vietnam war; and the general fear for nuclear annihilation that was prevalent throughout the Cold War.
The second movie is a light retreading of the first one, still taking place in the distant future where a new hero is in search of the original one played by Charlton Heston.
