Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)

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.

(71%) An enjoyable, well-made, and very 70's ape movie that turns a full cycle on the original's brilliant premise. The writing throughout is really quite sharp, and the "apes" do come across as more than a little bit charming and likable which is thanks mainly to the good performances of the heavily made up actors. And just like the original there's a ton of political meaning and truth (government agencies are real bastards and are not to be trusted under any reason), and the ending is pretty harrowing and brave for a mass market movie. Overall well worth a look for almost everybody as I was taken by how watchable it is.

Sometimes sequels try to be too much like the previous outing. Which was the biggest problem with Beneath the Planet of the Apes. Escape From the Planet of the Apes was a big improvement and a leap forward for the franchise. In a time where we now have 'Rise' and 'Dawn' of Apes it's pretty hard to impress me with the overwhelming effects that we have now. With that being said this film is a smart and refreshing take on the Apes franchise. It basically takes the premise of the original apes film and flips it on the other side. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie.Cornelius and Zira lead the film which was definitely the smartest decision the filmmakers could have made. Having the same male character for the first two outings grew a bit old and I liked that I was actually rooting for someone other than humans. That's how I fell in love with the new films. Caesar to the new films is exactly how you feel about Zira in Escape. I thought Eric Braeden was as equally as good of a villain as the franchise has seen. He was deceptively despicable and at times you understand his logic.Even though it's 1971, I thought the decision to switch from practical effects to real animals was an interesting one to say the least. The gorilla costumes were pretty awful and the movie does have it's fair share of over-the-top characters. Even with the film's great moments and the good choices the filmmakers made, it didn't lack the big mistake unlike Beneath. Beneath screwed up the franchise for the time being for it's gutsy ending and I have to say, Escape did the same. Without spoilers it ruins my excitement for the next installments after Escape. If it's not broke don't fix it.+Zira & Cornelius +Refreshing premise +Great Villain +Runtime is perfect -Switching between practical effects & real animals -Ending7.4/10

The third of the original PLANET OF THE APES series, following on from the classic original and the bombastic follow-up. This one's much lower-key and subdued, mainly because it was made on a budget clearly a lot lower than in the first two films. No futuristic worlds or societies here, just a simple fish-out-of-water story instead.It's also a disappointing movie, mainly because nothing much happens until the climax. The script is lacklustre, with hardly any moments of incident or excitement (even an early death seems to have been squeezed in just to get rid of an extraneous character). Instead, we get tons upon tons of exposition and lots of dumb light comedy scenes in which the apes attempt to be human by dressing up and getting drunk.The best thing about the movie is Roddy McDowall, who once more delivers a pitch-perfect turn as an intelligent simian; he was much missed in the last instalment, so it's great to see him back. Not so Kim Hunter, who's a bit irritating here. Still, the supporting cast is decent: Bradford Dillman, Ricardo Montalban and Eric Braeden all deliver solid turns. Then there's that ending, totally at odd with the rest of the film's spirit, but by far the best thing about it in my opinion. If only the rest of the film could have been like it...