Review of Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) by Justin R — 26 Dec 2009

Wow, one of the first movies I reviewed....

Anyway, while not as good as the original, this installment adds a lot to the mythology, and laid the ground for the sequels. And on its own, it's pretty mediocre, it becomes really good when placed in context with the three subsequent sequels.

Despite Charlton Heston's billing, he's in maybe ten minutes collectively. Not a spoiler, but perhaps that information will let you know what you are in for if you ever watch this.

Instead, we get James Franciscus, who does an admirable job talking to himself for about 90 minutes or so. The rest of the cast is made up of reprisals from the sequels, although only Maurice Evans and Linda Harrison get substantial screen time. Evans's role is expanded, and it adds a lot to his characterization, especially because he knows a lot more than he lets on. Roddy McDowall's not in this one, but his role is filled decently by David Watson, who does a pretty good job, too.

James Gregory's gorilla General Ursus is a good mix of legitimate jingoism and scene chewing, which is fun.

Basically, this movie is fun with its mystery about where the hell Heston went, the war march with Maurice Evans and the gorillas, the fucked-uplery of the weird mutant things, and the fact that this is the last movie where we get the post-apocalyptic ape setting of the original.

Apocalyptic fun.

And the burning Lawgiver scene is fantastic.