Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)

Today, Matt & Todd get into the third entry in the classic Planet of the Apes franchise: Escape from the Planet of the Apes.

Directed by: Don Taylor Starring: Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Natalie Trundy (Returning cast members.) as well asBradford Dillman, and Eric Braeden.

The original Planet of the Apes delivered a gripping, self-contained story. The sequel expanded the lore—and then promptly obliterated the planet. So, how exactly do we get a third film out of this?

Money, obviously.

But while financial motives are inevitable, what Escape delivers is far more than just a cash grab. The film flips the narrative, bringing the story to Earth. What unfolds isn’t a grand adventure as such but rather a tense exploration of fear, power, and survival—culminating in perhaps the franchise’s most haunting conclusion yet.

And yes, there are still two more of these…

Matt reviews and ranks more movies including newer ones at ⁠Letterboxd⁠

You can find out what he's following on Bluesky @MovieMattSirois.bsky.social

Check out favorites of what we follow, at: ⁠⁠⁠Once Upon a Geek⁠⁠⁠⁠ and  ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Fade Out Podcast⁠⁠ As Marcus he reviews all sorts of films but unlike here, they often they range from bad, worse, or terrible at the ⁠⁠⁠⁠MovieAsylum of the Weird, Bad and Wonderful⁠.