A corrective to the nihilistic violence and blunt message of its predecessor, Escape is the film that made Apes a franchise.
It also set the stage for the epic arc, as series scribe Paul Dehn started a circular narrative that would take the series back toward the original.
Stylistically and generically, Escape sticks out from the other films.
It often resembles a television show, the low budget narrowing the focus to create a more comic juxtaposition as our Simon heroes interact with early 70s LA.
It is a more lighthearted inversion of Taylor’s nightmare. At least, at first.
One has to credit the filmmakers for creating a sense of continuity that is not dependent on the previous installments, but works for this film - Zira’s previous role studying humans.
Zira has to contend with how her old job re-contextualises her relationship with humans.
This reveal (to the govt suits) that she had dissected humans ends up being used against her.
Roddy McDowall would take centre stage in the sequels but this is Kim Hunter’s chance to shine.
She brings a humor and spunk to the film, a relentless curiosity and sense of self-respect that makes for a more unpredictable and intriguing dynamic than the more careful, distrusting Cornelius and Milo.
More fully realized than its predecessor, Escape also earns its darkness. Compared to the apocalyptic finale of Beneath, Escape’s tragic end has genuine emotional punch, as the heroes we have come to know are betrayed and gunned down by the humans they have embraced.
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