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My review was written in July 1989 after watching the movie on MCA video cassette.

An interesting companion piece to "Gorillas in the Mist", Universal's no-dialog feature "Missing Link" had a brief theatrical run last November and currently is in video stores.

Pic limns the travails a million years ago of the last apeman (genus Australopithecus Robustus), doomed to extinction by the more violent race of man. Coming from the "Gorillas" executive producers (and featuring effective makeup effects by Rick Baker, also from that film), pic carries its similar ecological message and warning with agreeable understatement.

The handsome visuals of the Namib desert and various national parks in Namibia shot by filmmakers David and Carol Hughes deserve a big-screen treatment, but absence of a strong narrative makes it more appropriate for the lower involvement of a video audience.

Peter Elliott is expressive and quite sympathetic underneath Baker's variation on an apesuit makeup. After finding his mate and compatriots dead, killed by man's invention of the ax, he wanders to the sea in vain search for other survivors of his kind.

Mood and some setups are similar to Stanley Kubrick's classic "Dawn of Man" sequence in "2001: A Space Odyssey", but with a further inversion as here the viewer is inevitably rooting for the gentle guys our ancestor knocked off. By extension, all other animals on the planet are in danger until we come to our senses, the film implies.

Fascinating views of wildlife ranging from bullfrogs to lions and elephants make this picture of interest to fans of nature shows. Besides "Gorillas in the Mist", it also fits in thematically with producer Dennis B. Kane's previous National Geographic Society documentary feature "People of the Forest".

The Missing link is very different film but an interesting and intelligent film. The scenery was fantastic! I thought the Man-Ape was cool and actually funny at times. the film has good music and a good narration by Michael Gambon. There are some real life killing in the wild like a lion going after a baby zebra and other animals and the part with the chameleon eating the insects was really cool & the scenes with the mating frogs or toads was unusual with the amphibians doing back flips like stunt men! This movie a like very different documentary! If you like a movie that focuses on one character and the animals around him check this movie out if you can because its is very hard to find! Recommended!

I would give this film 9 out of 10. It's really fun to watch. Even without a dialog (or a plot), there's not a dull moment in the movie. And the ape man acted so well that I think he deserves an Oscar!

The filmmakers are apparently experts in the documentary of natural history, which explains the many beautiful sceneries (of Africa, I think) and intriguing sequences with animals. The documentary angle gives it authenticity, but this film has something more to say. It imagines how a pre-historic "ape man" of a now extinct species might have lived. This ape man is not a dumb beast but has a great sense of intelligence and humor (I would have said "humanity" but he is not human). Following his journey, we see mostly pleasant moments of delightful discoveries and occasionally fear and confusion. Then, the ape man has a moment of reflection that brings the film to a logical conclusion.

See this film. You will not be disappointed.

I've seen Missing Link over five times now and I'm still stunned that it didn't do better in theatres and on television. It is an awesome film; perfect for the entire family. I'm not sure if the term for Missing Link is pseudo-documentary or semi-documentary but it matters not. From the first frame to the last, one is engrossed by the story of the last survivor of the "Man-ape" species. The film is warm, funny and poignant it has superb cinematography, a spellbinding music score and everything else a film should have. From toddlers to seniors it will satisfy every viewer. I very highly recommend Missing Link (1988).

This is not your usual movie. First off there is no dialogue, only a Narrator (who does a great job). This film is made as if a national geographic team had travel back 1000 000 years in time and made a documentary on the last ape-man, one of our many ancestors. I found it more than entertaining, you will actually learn somethings in this movie. The "Star" 's make-up is just awesome and unique as far as i can remember the few films that tackled the prehistoric genre. So If you like anthropology, or are just curious about Man's past and struggles you will love this one. It's scary/funny/tragic/sad... lifelike. And the "Bad Guy" in this movie is YOU and ME - Homo Sapiens. In the line of "Quest for Fire", but even more real.