Beneath The Planet Of The Apes [HD]

The Most Misunderstood Of The Series
I'll preface this review by saying 'Planet of the Apes' remains my favorite movie of all time (so far). And in an age where film has been reduced to terms like 'franchises', the prerequisite to even a sequel must remain 'is there a story to be told'? As both a writer and a member of the audience, I cherish the surprise but detest the fact that if I buy into it- someone in an office somewhere thinks I'll buy into 'Star Trek, Indiana Jones or Star Wars 46'.

Planet remains the classic- the next three sequels are a terrific companion piece, adapting its suggested history and fleshing it out. Avoid Battle. The stories have been told.

Beneath has always remained the maligned, misunderstood one and I want to address that in my review. Being the only actual sequel (the other 3 being prequels), has something to do with that. I personally think it rose to the challenge of following a classic admirably- thanks to the team of Jacobs, Dehn, Abrahams, Post and Franciscus...

My favorite of the Apes series
Beneath the Planet of the Apes is the second movie in the series and my personal favorite. Probably the darkest of all five movies, the story begins with Taylor and Nova riding through the Forbidden Zone where the first one left off. Taylor mysteriously disappears, but Nova is able to find Brent, the only survivor of the crew sent to rescue Taylor. After seeing Ape City, Brent and Nova go into the Forbidden Zone where they find an underground city of mutants who worship an atomic bomb as their god. Meanwhile, the Apes are planning an attack on the Forbidden City. The story is very good and also examines the prejudices of the Apes that are so similar to the ones of the humans they so despise. This is not the happiest movie, especially the ending, but it is still a great movie and the ending does fit.

James Franciscus plays Brent, the astronaut who survives the crash, and plays it very well. His performance is similar to that of Charlton Heston's in the first one, and at some...

Well, 4 3/4 stars, really
Beneath the Planet of the Apes is the typical sequel that has to follow the plot and hold the same standards as its phenomonally successful original. "Beneath," as I will continue to call it, does it's job better than most. The plot is well thought out, the new characters, Nova, Taylor, and Dr. Zaius hold up very well, and it keeps many of the original film's aspects with it.

James Franciscus may have had the most difficult acting challenge. Since Charlton Heston did not want a sequel, and agreed to do only two cameos, Franciscus had to fill in the main character slot, and give a performance as strong as Heston's. He does a really good job at it. The main character, Brent, is very believable and obviously has a devotion to friends. His quest to find Taylor goes a lot farther than most humans would care to go. Brent's character is also helped by the fact he is new, so has no risk of not being like his past characterizations.

Ursus, the gorilla commander, is played by James Gregory...

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