"Escape From Planet of the Apes" is easily the weirdest of all the Ape films. Instead of "playing it straight" like the previous efforts in the series, director Don Taylor instead goes for the "camp humor" angle, with many sight gags and situational humor scenarios instead of action/adventure. At the same time, however, "Escape" has enough science fiction (this is the first film in the series to explore the time-travel aspect of the stories) to keep the hardcore viewers at least sometime satisfied.For a basic plot summary, "Escape" sees Cornelius (Roddy McDowell) and Zira (Kim Hunter) pulled from Taylor's space capsule...in "present day" (1971) Los Angeles. Apparently, the nuclear explosion at the end of "Beneath" propelled them back in time. In 1971, some social groups marvel at the intelligence and wittiness displayed by the two chimpanzees. Other groups, however, feel threatened by their future-Earth tales and want them eliminated. A key revelation towards the end of the film only serves to expedite the process.For starters, one must realize that "Escape" is primarily satire. If you try to view it as the action/adventure epics that the first two concocted, you will be severely disappointed. Instead, you just have to take it for what it is...and at times it can even get pretty funny! If you have friends/relatives that don't understand the whole Apes concept, this movie will seem like one of the dumbest cinematic creations in human history. If you have "bought in" to the Apes franchise, however, you won't have to feel self-conscious about the experience and thus enjoy it much more.Also, as is usual in these films, there is enough actually science fiction to even keep those types of fans satisfied (although in this case just barely). The whole notion that Cornelius and Zira actually start the events (via their time travel) that lead to the downfall of human society (and ultimately the destruction of the planet) is fascinating.Basically, your enjoyment of "Escape From the Planet of the Apes" will boil down to this: can you get over the ridiculous images of apes dressing up in human clothes, telling jokes, and mugging for the camera? If you can't, then you will feel almost physically uncomfortable watching this. If you are able to put your skepticism on hold and see the movie for the satire it is, it will provide some some entertainment.

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.

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

"Escape from the Planet of the Apes" is a nice addition to the series. I watched it for the first time last night, after the previous films, and have come to the conclusion that it's good, but not as good as the others. First, the only gripe I have is the hole in the story. Zeira states that Apes where pets of humans in the past, and that through the centuries the Apes then revolted.However, in the previous movies none of the apes knew that humans had ever had any intelligence. The question is, how could this be the way the Apes came to take over when none of the Apes had known this in the previous movies. Zeira even in the third movie sates that it's written in the sacred scrolls, "God has created Apes in his own image." That is contradictory to the idea that they came to power my an overthrow of the humans. This aside it serves as a nice transition further into the series.