Rise of the Planet of the Apes
I liked it. I thought it did a good, convincing (ish) job of explaining the back story to the original film (by original, I'm talking about the Charlton Heston version, not that Burton monstrosity), and I liked the subtle, and a few not so subtle, references to the original.
Issues? It's weird as a prequel in that yes, you can watch it as a film on its own without knowing the original, BUT if this was the first of the series you'd seen, the original would be ruined for you. I don't need to give spoilers about the original here, but if you've seen it you'll know exactly what I mean. Having said that, if you were unfamiliar with the original (or at least the Burton version) would this appeal to you in the first place?
CGI? I spent 2 hours being wowed by it, but not even 2 seconds being convinced by it. That's not to say it's not amazing, because it really is, but when you're spending so much time thinking "the CGI is incredible", then you're acknowledging it as animation and it's also taking away from a lot of other things.
So yeah, not sure what my point is really, other than if you're planning on seeing it, make sure you watch the original first. It won't make any difference in understanding this film (it's pretty straightforward), but it's a fantastic film that will be RUINED by this one if you don't watch it first.