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  (Reuters/Stefan Wermuth)
  Police officers wearing riot gear walk past a burning building in Tottenham, north London August 7, 2011. Crowds attacked riot police and set two squad cars alight in north London on Saturday following a protest at the fatal shooting of a man by armed officers earlier in the week.

People around the world mesmerized by television coverage of the violence gripping London's streets have taken to Twitter to express their shock and dismay at how much the chaos bears an uncanny resemblance to scenes from "Rise of the Planet of the Apes."

"Watching the London riots is like watching the trailer for rise of the planet of the apes!" tweeted Darren Jackson (@xJackooo) from East Ayrshire in the U.K.

In the trailer for "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" a group of apes are shown rebelling against their human captors, spilling into the streets, smashing building windows, turning over vehicles, and attacking police officers.

Another Twitter user, Funmi Ogunja (@FunmiOgunja), wrote, "Been watching Sky News Live, not sure if I'm watching the London Riots or THE RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES!!!"

Evin Grano (@etgryphon) wrote, "Saw 'The Rise of the Planet of the Apes' last night. Kind of like watching the streets of London lately." Grano, from Culpeper, Va., added the hashtag "#artImitatesLife" to the comment.

Some Twitter users were even wondering Wednesday if there was more than meets the eye to the rioting occurring as the "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" was set to premiere in the British city.

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Karthik Rajeswaran (@KROmegAMan), of Capetown, South Africa, writes, "Just saw footage of the London riots...is it just a coincidence they started the same weekend that Rise of the Planet of the Apes came out?"

Another user on the social media site, Eric Lampaert (@EricLampaert), also wondered if some great marketing ploy for the "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" was at play: "Are the London riots a way to advertise 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes'?"

The mayhem, said to have been sparked by the death of a “gangster” at the hand of a police officer, is described as the worst in London's history.

About 16,000 officers have been deployed onto the streets of London trying to quell the violence and protect citizens and properties as rioters continue for a fifth day to burn buildings and cars, loot stores, and rob citizens.

Another trend that emerged among Twitter users has been a call to prayer for the troubled city.

Those sentiments were expressed again today, as one poster wrote, "Rise of the Planet of the Brits in London today! YIKES! Prayers to our friends across the ocean." That was written by Cody Alan (@cmtcody).

In the latest violence, three young men were rammed to death by the driver of a stolen car Tuesday night. The men killed were reportedly trying to protect local businesses from looters.

British Prime Minister David Cameron spoke out Wednesday against the deaths of the three youths in the hit and run, and vowed to put a stop to the violence.

"We will not put up with this in our country. We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets," Cameron told reporters during a briefing.