Escape from the Planet of the Apes

**A picture of the artist painting a picture of the artist painting a picture of the artist painting a picture of the artist painting a landscape.** Indeed. Talk, talk and some more talk. Then they all decide to talk some more - taking a break for a little more talking - before finally deciding on talking just a little while longer. These actors must have had sore tongues after the film was completed. Some of them hospitalised with repetitive strain on the jawbone. A very talky film which could indeed lose the interest of younger viewers. Younger viewers don't want to see old men blabbering…

A very good sequel. <em>'Escape from the Planet of the Apes'</em> is a clear improvement on (the good) <em>'Beneath the Planet of the Apes'</em> and isn't that far adrift from the 1968 original. The plot is out there but they make it believable, while the ending is quite something - unexpectedly so! Neat to see Roddy McDowall return to his role from <em>'Planet of the Apes'</em>, while co-star Kim Hunter continues once again. I like those two characters so enjoyed seeing them become 'the stars' of this third release of the franchise. Onwards to <em>'Conquest of the Planet of the Apes'</em>.

Now quite how, we don't know, but suffice to say that "Cornelius" (Roddy McDowall) and "Zira" (Kim Hunter) manage to find themselves a spaceship and travel back in time to an Earth when humans - here, more specifically, a bunch of rather numb-sculled Americans - rule their continent. On stepping out of their craft, they must sigh the sigh of all aliens whose first glimpse of man is a man with loads of braid and no brains. They are taken to a zoo, fed oranges (?) and then subjected to a presidential inquiry that brings them some fame and celebrity, but also keeps them firmly on the radar of…

**_The reverse of the first film_** After Taylor’s space vessel lands in the waters near the coast of SoCal, military officials are astonished to find it occupied by three apes in spacesuits (including Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter). While there are those who embrace the talking chimpanzees (Bradford Dillman, Natalie Trundy and Ricardo Montalban), there are also those who view them as a threat to humankind (Eric Braeden). “Escape from the Planet of the Apes” (1971) keeps things interesting by switching the situation of the first two films in this original series. Although this takes away…