Review- Beneath the Planet of the Apes
It could only go down after a groundbreaking classic but did it have to go this far down?
From this film onwards, I'm going to talk about plot in full detail, including spoilers so if you really want to go away and see these films without knowing anything, go do that now. Now that the one person who felt that way is left, it's time to really breakdown this film. Essentially, it's such a direct followup from the first that it opens with five minutes of footage from the end of the first film except that Charlton Heston (Taylor) didn't want to return and so he disappears early in the film after falling into a rock and then appears later for a death match. Between that, a new astronaut called Brent crash lands on the planet, goes to the ape colony and essentially repeats the last act of the first film for a while. Eventually, Brent and Nova (silent woman from the last film) find their way underground to a colony of mutated humans who wear skin masks and worship a nuke. Brent and Taylor realise that neither side is good and so after being forced to fight to the death, they try and save the world. To save the world, they blow up the nuke which destroys the entire planet. There are three films that directly follow this. It could be the most absurd plot of the series and I do not say that lightly.
So as I mentioned there, Charlton Heston, star of the last film, didn't want to return for this sequel so he's barely there, both in terms of screen time and emotional commitment. He puts a bit of work in for the fight scene between Taylor and Brent but that's about it. The unlikely star of the show then is James Franciscus who plays Brent. I assume he was cast because he looks very similar to Charlton Heston but he actually brings a spark to his role that could have and definitely should have been forgettable. After Heston, he is truly the best lead in the original series. Roddy McDowall isn't actually in this film, despite being credited as such but to be honest, his presence isn't much missed. Kim Hunter picks up the slack a bit but again, isn't given much to do. A franchise regular who gets introduced in this film is Natalie Trundy. She plays different characters each time, here playing one of the underground mutant humans and while she has a decent screen presence, offering some menace, it's not exactly a noteworthy performance. Still, a larger cast means more weird characters to interact with each other and that is the lifeblood of this franchise.
Whereas the first film was a (relatively) subdued criticism on how we treat animals in modern day society, Beneath instead goes the complete opposite direction and at the halfway mark starts just taking potshots at religion. For the apes, they start to talk about the ancient scripture laid down by God and how ape was made in God's image, obviously a reference to the phrase from Christianity. You think that's it and then we go underground and find humans literally worshiping a nuclear missile, singing prayers to it. It's weird and is also another criticism on how we worship weapons in our society. That's entirely too many messages for one film, especially when they're so far apart from each other but that's the beauty of it. It's a sequel so they have to up everything, the messages, the characters, the craziness. It's all up a notch but isn't a better film for it.
No one can argue that this film is a step down from the original and many will find it hard to even see this as a good film. However, my inherent fondness for the franchise makes it hard for me to be too cruel as even while it throws absurd plot developments at us accompanied by heavy handed symbolism, it makes me smile. Sometimes at it, often with it. It is not a great film though so I can only end up giving it a
So as I mentioned there, Charlton Heston, star of the last film, didn't want to return for this sequel so he's barely there, both in terms of screen time and emotional commitment. He puts a bit of work in for the fight scene between Taylor and Brent but that's about it. The unlikely star of the show then is James Franciscus who plays Brent. I assume he was cast because he looks very similar to Charlton Heston but he actually brings a spark to his role that could have and definitely should have been forgettable. After Heston, he is truly the best lead in the original series. Roddy McDowall isn't actually in this film, despite being credited as such but to be honest, his presence isn't much missed. Kim Hunter picks up the slack a bit but again, isn't given much to do. A franchise regular who gets introduced in this film is Natalie Trundy. She plays different characters each time, here playing one of the underground mutant humans and while she has a decent screen presence, offering some menace, it's not exactly a noteworthy performance. Still, a larger cast means more weird characters to interact with each other and that is the lifeblood of this franchise.
Whereas the first film was a (relatively) subdued criticism on how we treat animals in modern day society, Beneath instead goes the complete opposite direction and at the halfway mark starts just taking potshots at religion. For the apes, they start to talk about the ancient scripture laid down by God and how ape was made in God's image, obviously a reference to the phrase from Christianity. You think that's it and then we go underground and find humans literally worshiping a nuclear missile, singing prayers to it. It's weird and is also another criticism on how we worship weapons in our society. That's entirely too many messages for one film, especially when they're so far apart from each other but that's the beauty of it. It's a sequel so they have to up everything, the messages, the characters, the craziness. It's all up a notch but isn't a better film for it.
No one can argue that this film is a step down from the original and many will find it hard to even see this as a good film. However, my inherent fondness for the franchise makes it hard for me to be too cruel as even while it throws absurd plot developments at us accompanied by heavy handed symbolism, it makes me smile. Sometimes at it, often with it. It is not a great film though so I can only end up giving it a
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