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Originally Posted by Lex M
MAGNUM FORCE probably IS directed much more flatly than its predecessor. But I don't think its characterizations are simplistic as you contend; Also, the screenplay is by none other than the dueling heavy hitter combo of Michael Cimino and John Milius, with the emphasis on the Milius. And while yes, it does contradict many of the things that made Harry Harry in the original, and has been accused of being a retraction of the ealier film's ideals, whether that's for better or worse, I think that should be pinned more on Milius/Cimino than Post himself.
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Actually, my beef isn't with Post's work so much on
Magnum Force as it was on the POTA sequel. There are moments in
Magnum Force that are superior to the original, actually. But on
Escape From the Planet of the Apes, while it was the producers that rejected some great scripts, it was Post whose camera angles were standard and uninteresting and his pacing that turned what should have been a breakout sequel into a highly disappointing second installment with moments dangerously close to laughable.
I added Mike Hodges just now, and I'm thinking about our friend, the late J. Lee Thompson too, were it not for his brilliant resume of Gregory Peck films in the 1960s. Those later POTA and Charles Bronson films Thompson helmed I don't think many people would use in their demo reels.