THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Planet of the Apes was a game changer in the late 1960s for expanding the imagination in how movies can be made. And with it being a profitable success at its time, it was a no brainer for 20th Century (Fox) Studios to make a franchise out of it the way MGM did with Ian Fleming’s James Bond.
PLOT
Beneath the Planet of the Apes takes immediately following the events of the first film. The time displaced astronaut Taylor has returned to Earth to discover the planet has been overturned by apes as a result of an apocalyptic war. When hoping to search for life outside Ape City, he disappears after leaning into a cliff wall, leaving his mute companion Nova (Linda Harrison) all alone. Surprisingly, his group is not the only one to crash land. Another astronaut named Brent comes from the past with the intent to find him. At first he makes it to be another planet when he meets Nova who has Taylor's dog tags. When finding Ape City, he overhears gorilla general Ursus (James Gregory) planning to conquer the Forbidden Zone as an attempt to use it as a food source, against the f=objections of Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans). Upon sneaking in, he gets injured by a gorilla soldier, causing Nova to take him to Cornelius & Zira (David Watson & Kim Hunter), the chimpanzee scientists who knew Taylor and defended him. After his wounds were tended to, the two humans get captured in which Ursus order them to be used for target practice. Thankfully, Zira is able to help them both escape. The two would go on to hide in a cave that was once a subway station, which helps Brent deduce he is in a future dystopia of Earth. During the investigation of the area, he would become agitated and attack Nova until he stops. Once he does, he finds an old cathedral and inside, he finds telepathic humans who worship a nuclear bomb with an insignia meaning 'Alpha Omega' that they call their Divine Bomb. The telepaths reveal themselves to be descendants of humans who survived a nuclear holocaust who have mutated over generations and claim to be peaceful despite their tactics of mind control. When they force Brent to reveal their march towards the Forbidden Zone, they attempt to repel them with illusions until Zaius sees right through them. As they prepare to detonate the bomb, they remove their masks to reveal having grotesque disfigurements. When separating Brent from Nova, one of the telepaths forces him to fight Taylor and in the process, Nova speaks the latter male's name for the first time. This would break the mutant's concentration long enough for both men to overpower and kill him. When Taylor tells Brent of the bomb's insignia, he deduces it to be strong enough to destroy the whole planet. When the apes reach the cathedral, it becomes a free-for-all as Nova and many mutants get killed within the conflict. Taylor & Brent would try to stop Ursus from setting off the bomb on accident after already killing the mutant leader, but the former would be shot down as well. Brent would retaliate in shooting Ursus, but he would be shot as well and the film would end in a cliffhanger in which Taylor places his hand on the detonator.
THOUGHTS
You know expectations were gonna be high due to the landmark made by the predecessor, so I wasn't too mad this film didn't reach them per se yet still was generally entertaining to get through. In the long run, I do believe Director Ted Post and cowriters Paul Dehn & Mort Abrahams hit the checkmarks on an interesting sci fi adventure. The production design on the Forgotten Zone is just as impressive as what is done for Ape City and and the makeup done for the mutants ages well like ti does for the apes. It's quite a twist on getting mutants involved in this dystopia because it's a wild card predicament to prove how mighty the planet has fallen since. Was it a rushed plot point? Most definitely, but it worked on further reminding audiences the consequences of letting our actions be based on religion and how that factors in personal decisions. Seeing them makes them no different than Zaius and the apes who choose to hate the modern generation when it wasn't even their fault of the apocalypse. With that being said, it's a little irritating that the franchise continued from here rather than leave the cliffhanger as is because it would've made the message all the more impactful than what was done with the first film's money shot of Lady Liberty. Now I did not mind the presence of James Franciscus as Brent because he has nobility similar to Taylor, but because he's so similar they might as well just recast Charlton Heston since he already looks like him, rather than give us another character. Cornelius & Zira are still cool because they don't hate humans and don't act above them. And it sucked to see Nova die because she was the most innocent who barely had any idea what was going on. Ursus was the most interesting character despite being underdeveloped because he's one who wants to expand the horizons for his kind by exploring the Forbidden Zone. If there wasn't a nuke involved in the climax, he'd be following through as a great leader. Zaius is still a villain compared to him because his reason to go against is based on his established prejudice. Now with all these elements making sense, there were still a lot of things that did not. From the top, isn't it weird how Brent's captain wasn't prepared for time dilation the way Taylor was? If you're a captain, you know the hardest choices require the strongest will. I even thought it was weird for Brent to not have anything to carry with him like food and/or water before going to Ape City because he doesn't know yet what kind of journey he's in for. I mean even Taylor didn't make this decision. Also, how come Cornelius & Zira are still walking freely after helping Taylor out? They like forgot to be put on trial or Zaius unreasonably let them go which gives a weird excuse for them to later help Brent. And you guys know I hate continuity errors, so you bet I was deeply confused to see Brent's wounded back smear blood on one wall for one frame, only for the next to not reveal a scratch on his back at all. Ignore these said issues, then you'll still have moderate enjoyment like I did. In short, Beneath the Planet of the Apes is another intriguing sci fi flick for letting loose with its concept more than before. If you love the first film dearly, I hope you respect what this one was going for.
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