War For The Planet of the Apes: 11 Plot Points To Remember Before Watching

It's been six whole years since the first installment in the prequel series, so it's a little hard to remember that this whole mess (millions dying, humanity becoming the subservient species on the planet) started with a cute little baby chimp and James Franco starring as Will Rodman, a brilliant scientist with a noble cause. Little baby chimp Caesar was raised by Rodman after being rescued from a lab.

Rodman's team and research valiantly tried to discover a cure for Alzheimer's. Using apes, the project created a way for the brain to regrow parts of itself that had died or been injured. But instead, when used the medicine caused the trial patients--the chimps--to become highly intelligent. A product of these experiments, Caesar grew up to be far smarter than any other ape.

If you're wondering why there aren't as many humans in the latest film to participate in the battle: here's your answer. In the first film, we found out that not only did the experimental medicine cause apes to become highly intelligent, but that it reacted adversely to humans exposed to it and created a deadly, easily spread virus. Accidentally released from the lab, the disease began to hit human populations hard, causing violent, ugly deaths.

Tom Felton's character in Rise of the Planet of the Apes was an abusive handler who beat and tazed the apes he looked after more than he cared for them. Caesar was forced to relocate to this exhibit, and he began to hate this repulsive human being. After the heartbreaking death of one of Caesar's gentle ape friends, Caesar stood up to his tormentor's abuse.

One of the most iconic aspects to the apes in the Planet of the Apes franchise is their eerie ability to speak. After grabbing the club of his human abuser, Caesar dramatically and clearly speaks the first words an ape has ever uttered "No!"

After killing the handler, Caesar released his fellow apes and exposes them to the medicine that increases their intelligence. They rampage out of the city and escape to the forests.

At the same time, the disease created by Rodman's experiments has ravaged the world. The first film closes with a dramatic and nerve-wracking sequence that shows the spread of the deadly disease, beginning from the source and branching out after a contaminated person goes to an airport. Billions of humans die, wiping out a significant portion of the population.

Thanks, James Franco.

Dawn of the Planets of the Apes focuses on the aftermath of the first film, showing a world in which apes and humans both struggle to survive. Caesar has risen as the leader of the intelligent apes, and they have established a society that they live in. However, problems arise when a small group of survivors makes contact. Caesar and a human named Carver hope to establish peace, but this ugly chimp Kabu and Gary Oldman's character Dreyfus are certain that war is inevitable and do some villainy fear-mongering.

Kabu stages an attack on the humans by convincing the ape colony that Carver has shot Caesar. The humans and apes fight in an epic, machine-gun filled battle. Caesar kills Kabu for his betrayal and for causing the conflict, but it's too late. The humans have managed to make contact with a nearby military base of survivors. Caesar knows that the humans will never forgive this attack, and that war is inevitable.

The military group of humans seems to have rallied in the trailers that we've seen for War for the Planet of the Apes. Led by Woody Harrison's character, the humans have begun preparations and training to "take back" their planet from the apes. They say that since they created this new species of intelligent ape, humans will have to destroy their monstrous creations. Something tells us that this won't entirely go in the human's favor. It might be the entire old series and the image of the buried Statue of Liberty that makes us believe this fight's not exactly in the humans' corner.

While they're definitely fighting humans, the apes still seem to be the sympathetic characters in the new film. What we've seen has been largely concentrated to Caesar's perspective as the main character. In the trailer, we see apes being merciful and refusing to harm a young human girl while Caesar's voice says "We are not savages." From the other photos we see, it appears that the girl will be adopted into the ape colony. So who are we really rooting for?

Even though Caesar says in the trailer that he doesn't want this war, it's clear from all of the action shots that we're in for a Human vs Ape fight to the death over control of the planet. We all know that Caesar's still got a soft spot for humanity because Rodman (Franco) was such a good adopted father, but his reluctance to go to war won't stop his need to protect his colony.

Did you forget anything from the earlier films? Are you rooting for the apes or for the humans in this final, epic war? Let us know in the comments below, and don't forget to share this list to keep your friends from whispering dumb questions during the movie!