Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)

Simply Perfect

A Major Disappointment

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The characters of The Planet of the Apes are back and this time we're traveling into the past as the chimpanzees Zira and Cornelius – still played brilliantly by Kim Hunter and Roddy McDowall, respectively – use Taylor's spaceship to flee the destroyed Earth, in the process ending in the United States in the 70s. From there they face much of the same trials Taylor had to go through in the original film, but this time with humans in the position of control.What I like the most about this film is that it continues the story in a very clever and innovative way, while still keeping it faithful to the style and themes of the original. There's still a lot of talk about sentience, the ability to reason, power, control, all that good and heavy stuff. But, switching the roles around makes it new and interesting again, while still allowing us to enjoy the characters we have come to love.And it's not just the initial setup. The film doesn't quite have the flow and heavy impacts the original did, but the story does flow well enough and the ending is such that works as a nice prequel to the events of the original. Plus, the old characters are still great, the universe is interesting and the new additions work well enough.Is it a masterpiece? Nah, the story doesn't quite have the depth for it, but if you liked the original film, and even if you were disappointed by the sequel, you should give this one a watch as it is a worthy successor.

Despite a conclusion showing the planet's destruction, 20th Century Fox requested another sequel, turning the films into a franchise.Arthur P. Jacobs recruited Paul Dehn to a new script with a brief telegram: "Apes exist. Sequel required." Dehn immediately started work on what became the third film titled Escape from the Planet of the Apes. The film would once again change directors, Don Taylor was hired to direct and had a greatly diminished budget of $2.5 million dollars, which required a tight production schedule.In the film, Zira and Cornelius are initially accepted by American society, but human fears that their child will bring about the destruction they predict to lead to their dates.Compared to it's predecessors, Escape dwelt more heavily on themes of racial conflict, which became a primary focus through the rest of the series. The film opened on May 21, 1971, less than a year after the previous film and was well received by critics. It also performed really well at the box office, though not as strongly as the first two. Fox ordered a third sequel.The story is just great, especially after the second film's poor story and the writer did a great job with creating this sequel's story. The direction and action is just amazing and cool. The film is really quick and amazing, but I just ran along with it.The acting is just amazing in this one and the actors are just amazing. Kim Hunter and Roddy McDowall are good in there roles. Natalie Trundy is really good and is fantastic in her role. Bradford Dillman, Ricardo Montalban and Eric Braeden are really good in their new roles and they are fantastic and amazing.Overall, ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET of the APES is really amazing and fantastic and it is one movie that definitely makes up for the previous film.8/10.

After seeing "Beneath the Planet of the Apes"(1970) I really didn't wanted to know anything else about this franchise and the idea that there were still 3 more films after that seemed more than rare. But I gave this film a chance and I'm glad I did . Is so rare to see that's the same screenwriter in both films and yet one is so much better than the other.The film is great! A very interesting mix of comedy and drama, touching important subjects like if we can change the future by actions of the present and the always important future of mankind.There's no important advances in terms of history of cinema and it's not a groundbreaking film , but's an original and very entertaining story, I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to see the next film of the series. Recommended.

Now, when you make a movie like Planet Of The Apes (1968) due to popular demand, everyone wants a sequel. But the fans are usually very strict on what they want. It is extra hard to keep a series running, without destroying it with one single movie. Now, Beneath the Planet Of The Apes would have been a gamble, due to the Earth being destroyed at the end. So it was an extremely good idea to have three apes (who, coincidentally, are my ultimate favourites) travel back almost 3000 years.When wars are brewing in the Planet Of The Apes, doctors Cornelius, Zira, and Milo use friend Taylor's original spaceship to travel away from the planet. As they were flying, they did the opposite of what previous characters Taylor and Brent did. Instead of travelling to the future, like Taylor and Brent, they travel back to the modern day (well, that was 1971 back then), and watch all of mankind gape at three talking chimpanzees appearing in a spaceship.But soon after, Dr. Milo dies, and Zira and Cornelius, still not fully sure how they got back, are alone and confused. When mankind soon start turning on them, Zira becomes pregnant, and the Government has permission to take the baby away with them. So the race to hide away from mankind begins.With amazing makeup, acting, and suspense, there's no way you can go wrong with a movie like this. You'll cry, marvel, cheer, and get connected to the characters. So, if you like fantastic sequels to movies like 'Back To The Future Part II' (1989), or 'Men In Black 3' (2010), and maybe even if you don't like these, then I most definitely recommend this movie to YOU!!!