Escape From The Planet Of The Apes

Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)

Runtime: 97 minutes

Directed by: Don Taylor

Starring: Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman, Natalie Trundy, Eric Braeden

From: 20th Century Fox

This movie was better than expected. And no, it was not because M. Emmet Walsh has a bit part, although it was a surprise to see him. Find out why instead below: 

This movie turned out better than what I had expected. I knew that it involved bipedal human-sized apes walking around early 1970's Los Angeles and at one point they wear posh early 1970's clothing, so from that description it does sound a little silly. Yet, it was more thoughtful than I expected.

I will forever be amused that they figured out a way to continue the same story after the way the 2nd film ended. Cornelius and Zira (along with a smart chip named Dr. Milo, although he might as well have been named Plot Convenience and he doesn't even live for that long) end up on Taylor's ship and they fly to 1973 Los Angeles, where people seemed surprisingly accepting of seeing bipedal human-sized chimps walking around; that was even before they started talking.

Once they do start talking, they reveal too much and thus there's controversy over what should be done with them, now that some people in power know humanity's future; the highlight for me was seeing serious discussion over whether they “should play God” and try to change the future or not by “getting rid” of our protagonists. The President of the United States is involved and as this is before Watergate, he is not a villain and he actually tries to do the right thing. You can understand why the villains think the way they do, but of course they act like A-holes so it's still easy to root against them. While the movie is indeed a little goofy sometimes, overall it was a solid watch and never boring. Not only is there the presence of Ricardo Montalban as a colorful ringmaster of a circus, but there's also dialogue that both explains the rise of the apes and sets up the plot for the next film, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.

As is typical with this series (a fact I confirmed after last night), it doesn't have the happiest of endings. Hollywood was different now and to be honest, it'd be nice if more movies today did not have the stereotypical “happy ending”. As I am me, I just about guffawed when I saw that the ending shot was obviously footage that rewound and played forward again and it looped a few times... it's still a melancholy denouement for this installment but I laughed because of how blatant it was. Even then, I am glad this was a pleasant surprise and with any luck, I'll enjoy the final two films in this particular timeline of the franchise.