The previous film, "Beneath the Planet of the Apes", ended with a giant blast. Literally! In 3955, the earth is destroyed following a confrontation between enraged gorillas, crazy human mutants and a duo of time-travelling astronauts. Does no more life and no more planet equals no more sequels? Of course not! "Escape" begins magnificently, with the miraculously fixed spacecraft of the first film plunging into American sea waters, and three intelligent chimpanzees emerging from it, much to the astonishment of the human populace. The likeable Zira and Cornelius we already knew. Their pal Prof. Milo came along but he cannot enjoy his trip to the past for a very long time. I also love how he says he lacks the intellect to know precisely how they time-travelled! In other words: just accept it.
With a bit of imagination, "Escape" is somewhat the topsy-turvy version of the original. Unsuspecting humans in 1973 are astonished to acquaint with intelligent and eloquent apes, just like the Apes in 3955 were astonished to find an intelligent and eloquent human in the shape of Charlton Heston. Again, immediate research and scrutinous commissions ensue, and the "invading" species is considered a menace that will eventually bring down civilization. Especially when the White House counselor discovers that Zira is pregnant, he wants the next generation of intelligent simians to be aborted and the parents to be sterilized.
I'm probably a minority, but I find "Escape from the Planet of the Apes" a brilliant sequel; - much better than "Beneath" and practically on par with the almighty original. For starters, it's one of those rare sequels that doesn't blindly copies the success formula of the original, but one that dares to be different and come up with entirely new plot elements. Admittedly, since the planet exploded, there wasn't another option but to go back in time, but still the elaboration and script are fantastic. Under hypnosis, Zira and Cornelius also explain the reason why apes gradually became so accustomed to humans and reveal how they took control of the planet. Fascinating and, oh yes, a tad bit disturbing. With their return into time with knowledge of the future, our chimpanzees also set in motion a convoluted but intriguing time-traveling paradox, which is what I (personally) adore the most in Sci-Fi.
And, quite simply, "Escape from the Planet of the Apes" is a compelling adventure with dazzling dialogues and excellent performances. Notably Eric Braeden is terrific, as he depicts my personal favorite type of villain: the sophisticated but utterly remorseless and stone-cold scientist. There's a lot less action in this installment and, admittedly, the emphasis lies a bit too much on comedy when Cornelius and Zira are being toured around New York, but all this gets widely compensated by the nail-biting interrogation sequences and the intense finale (featuring an escape from the facility, a friendly circus owner and a standout on the deck of a ship).
With a bit of imagination, "Escape" is somewhat the topsy-turvy version of the original. Unsuspecting humans in 1973 are astonished to acquaint with intelligent and eloquent apes, just like the Apes in 3955 were astonished to find an intelligent and eloquent human in the shape of Charlton Heston. Again, immediate research and scrutinous commissions ensue, and the "invading" species is considered a menace that will eventually bring down civilization. Especially when the White House counselor discovers that Zira is pregnant, he wants the next generation of intelligent simians to be aborted and the parents to be sterilized.
I'm probably a minority, but I find "Escape from the Planet of the Apes" a brilliant sequel; - much better than "Beneath" and practically on par with the almighty original. For starters, it's one of those rare sequels that doesn't blindly copies the success formula of the original, but one that dares to be different and come up with entirely new plot elements. Admittedly, since the planet exploded, there wasn't another option but to go back in time, but still the elaboration and script are fantastic. Under hypnosis, Zira and Cornelius also explain the reason why apes gradually became so accustomed to humans and reveal how they took control of the planet. Fascinating and, oh yes, a tad bit disturbing. With their return into time with knowledge of the future, our chimpanzees also set in motion a convoluted but intriguing time-traveling paradox, which is what I (personally) adore the most in Sci-Fi.
And, quite simply, "Escape from the Planet of the Apes" is a compelling adventure with dazzling dialogues and excellent performances. Notably Eric Braeden is terrific, as he depicts my personal favorite type of villain: the sophisticated but utterly remorseless and stone-cold scientist. There's a lot less action in this installment and, admittedly, the emphasis lies a bit too much on comedy when Cornelius and Zira are being toured around New York, but all this gets widely compensated by the nail-biting interrogation sequences and the intense finale (featuring an escape from the facility, a friendly circus owner and a standout on the deck of a ship).
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