*SPOILERS*
Ok, this one is for Planet of the Apes diehards only! The third installment in the declining 5-part series decidedly steepens the downward slope. Rife with plot-holes and cheesy acting & dialogue, "Escape From..." both viscerates all previous continuity and series logic, while laying the ground-work for those that will (unfortunately) follow.
Ignoring the fact that Taylor (Charlton Heston) & crew crashed their spaceship and completely sunk it in a unknown body of water in the first film, and the fact that the apes have NO knowledge of flight OR technology whatsoever in their future civilization, somehow, Cornelius, Zira & new buddy (and scientific genius), Dr. Milo resurrect said craft and make it back to "present day" Earth (aka, 1970's Los Angeles).
Despite the fact that Dr. Milo bites the dust like a Star Trek ensign shortly after arrival, they then proceed to become media darlings and international celebrities, wining, dining, shopping for swank clothes; Cornelius cracking wise like he's auditioning at a comedy club, while Zira becomes an instant alcoholic; all the while revealing more of their secrets and supplying an incredible (if not impossible to have been discovered) over-view of Human & Ape history that was completely non-existent in the previous two films!
Throw in a baby that will spell the end of Mankind, and the evil, German doctor out to destroy them all, and you are set to go!
What is important with this film in the series is that it sets up and tries to explain what will follow in the next two films (whether that was a conscious decision or not). *{And, maybe even more importantly, it utilizes a plotline that would be "re-used" some 20 some years later in the TERMINATOR series; beings from the future come back to our present and deliver the future's savior in the form of a child.}
Falling somewhere between silly and mediocre, with Roddy McDowell's "Cornelius" and Kim Hunter's "Zira" just reaching the cusp of irritating, and the look and feel (and plot-line!) of a episode of "The Monkees", ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES is at best a cautioned watch and at worst a Sunday afternoon settle- for. Eric Braeden (best known as Victor Newman of The Young & The Restless soap opera fame), as Dr. Otto Hasslein is the high point of this film and worth watching for his performance alone.
5/10. Grab a banana and (try to) enjoy!
Ok, this one is for Planet of the Apes diehards only! The third installment in the declining 5-part series decidedly steepens the downward slope. Rife with plot-holes and cheesy acting & dialogue, "Escape From..." both viscerates all previous continuity and series logic, while laying the ground-work for those that will (unfortunately) follow.
Ignoring the fact that Taylor (Charlton Heston) & crew crashed their spaceship and completely sunk it in a unknown body of water in the first film, and the fact that the apes have NO knowledge of flight OR technology whatsoever in their future civilization, somehow, Cornelius, Zira & new buddy (and scientific genius), Dr. Milo resurrect said craft and make it back to "present day" Earth (aka, 1970's Los Angeles).
Despite the fact that Dr. Milo bites the dust like a Star Trek ensign shortly after arrival, they then proceed to become media darlings and international celebrities, wining, dining, shopping for swank clothes; Cornelius cracking wise like he's auditioning at a comedy club, while Zira becomes an instant alcoholic; all the while revealing more of their secrets and supplying an incredible (if not impossible to have been discovered) over-view of Human & Ape history that was completely non-existent in the previous two films!
Throw in a baby that will spell the end of Mankind, and the evil, German doctor out to destroy them all, and you are set to go!
What is important with this film in the series is that it sets up and tries to explain what will follow in the next two films (whether that was a conscious decision or not). *{And, maybe even more importantly, it utilizes a plotline that would be "re-used" some 20 some years later in the TERMINATOR series; beings from the future come back to our present and deliver the future's savior in the form of a child.}
Falling somewhere between silly and mediocre, with Roddy McDowell's "Cornelius" and Kim Hunter's "Zira" just reaching the cusp of irritating, and the look and feel (and plot-line!) of a episode of "The Monkees", ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES is at best a cautioned watch and at worst a Sunday afternoon settle- for. Eric Braeden (best known as Victor Newman of The Young & The Restless soap opera fame), as Dr. Otto Hasslein is the high point of this film and worth watching for his performance alone.
5/10. Grab a banana and (try to) enjoy!