Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)

Director: Don Taylor
Starring: Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman

Synopsis:
Three chimpanzee scientists escape the destruction of Earth via spacecraft, traveling through time to the present day.

Impressions:
Now, it's easy to dismiss this movie on account of the premise, but it's actually pretty good. Cornelius and Zira are put through an interesting inversion of Taylor's ordeals from the first movie. The bizarreness of their brief time as celebrity socialites is something that has to be seen to be believed. The villain is wildly over the top, to the point where his iron grip on the villain ball is actually kinda entertaining. Ricardo Montalban also has a small but memorable role as the circus ringleader Armando. The social commentary can be a bit heavy-handed, as always, but it's interesting all the same. Give it a watch.

Rating:
Watch It