Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)

Escape from the Planet of the Apes

• To my great surprise (not), here’s a weak entry in the Planet of the Apes franchise. I was kind of excited for this one because of its solid score on Rotten Tomatoes, but let me tell you, I don’t know what those critics were looking at. The movie does have a couple fun moments that were enjoyable, but for the most part, it lacked a solid plot and entertainment value. The whole thing spelt like a spoof, so it was very hard to take seriously. I found myself making fun of it more than actually trying to study and enjoy it. I can kind of see where the writer wanted to go with it, but it felt scattered and messy. Ultimately, it didn’t work out in the end. Character-wise, the return of Cornelius and Zira was nice, but they were one of the only good parts of the foundation for this movie that I enjoyed. Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter were cool and funny as always, but everyone else wasn’t too great. Lastly, the score was decent, though nothing compared to the first Apes movie. Overall, this one was a bore, and though there are a couple scenes that I liked, the majority of it was just campy and sloppy. Probably not one I’d watch again (unless it’s part of an Apes marathon), and I wouldn’t recommend it either.