FanUnity B(uzz)log

Perhaps the most notable aspect of Beneath the Planet of the Apes, the sequel to the 1968 sci-fi classic Planet of the Apes, is its bizarre plot structure. Charlton Heston was reluctant to participate in a follow up to Apes, noting that the point was made in the first film and that any subsequent films would just be more adventures among the apes. Fox wanted a sequel, however, so the producers of the movie were forced to cope without their star and hire another actor for the film’s new lead astronaut Brent, James Franciscus. Chuck would agree to appear in the movie briefly, but only on the condition that they killed his character off. But rather than kill Heston’s Taylor off in the beginning of the picture, the filmmakers decided to have Heston open it, after which he’d disappear and the story would follow Brent’s search for Taylor for a while. Later, in the third act, Taylor would reappear and become the central character once again.The result is odd, because, for all intents and purposes, Franciscus is just a miniature version of Heston. He looks like Heston, and his acting style is similar to Heston’s. The big difference is that he’s simply not as good — sort of a poor man’s Chuck. Why the producers of Beneath decided that this Brent should be played by an actor who is such an obvious Heston stand-in is baffling and is part of what makes the experience of watching Beneath so strange. To his credit though, Franciscus hams it up pretty well in this odd situation. Heston, as Taylor, once again delivers a solid performance.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes opens with the closing scenes of the original film. The new footage begins with a shot of a spaceship from Taylor’s time crashed on the planet of the apes. As we get our first glimpse at these new astronauts, the ship’s skipper dies almost immediately. That leaves the Heston-look-a-like astronaut Brent to complete their mission: Recover the lost survivors of the first film’s doomed space expedition. Soon after the skipper passes away, a bewildered Nova (Linda Harrison) comes across Brent. Trying to jog the primitive babe’s memory, Brent talks about Taylor. We then learn (through flashbacks) that after the Statue of Liberty revelation at the end of the first film, Taylor and his mute girlfriend rode along a shoreline that was once part of New York in search of a place to settle down and create a brood of intelligent speaking humans. But this is science fiction, so things took a turn for the bizarre. During their journey, Taylor and Nova came across a wall of fire. But Taylor was clever enough to tell that it is a simple illusion. He decided to investigate further, but told Nova to stay behind and seek out Doctor Zira (Kim Hunter) if he doesn’t come back. He didn’t.

With little help to be gained from the stupid and mute Nova, Brent has to seek other options. This leads him to the nearest civilization. A yawn-fest ensues as Brent discovers that he’s on — here’s a shocker — a planet where apes rule and men are beasts. Brent basically goes through the same revelations that Taylor did in the first film, but Franciscus doesn’t make it as interesting as Heston did.

After meeting up with Zira and Cornelius, Brent, with the help of an ape-made map, tracks Taylor to an underground lair. This subterranean setting turns out to be the ruins of one of New York’s most famous avenues. Brent has his own pale version of the Statue of Liberty scene at this point. Soon the action picks up though, as he learns that this cavern is now a hive for a band of mentally warped mutant humans who get off on displaying their incredible psychic powers. To top it off, these mutants have in their possession a doomsday bomb left over from the 20th Century, which they worship as their God. Meanwhile, a bloodthirsty gorilla general named Ursus rallies an army to set out into the Forbidden Zone for some conquering since traces of what may be another culture living near Ape City have been found. All this culminates in an ape invasion of the mutant lair, an appropriate ending to all life on Earth, and the fulfillment of the ape Lawgiver’s prophecy that man will destroy the planet.

Taken bit by bit, Beneath the Planet of the Apes would logically add up to a pretty bad movie. The story itself is off the wall and completely inferior to the intelligent original Apes film, and the acting isn’t as good since the first movie’s standouts Heston, Maurice Evans (Doctor Zaius) and Kim Hunter have limited screen time, and Roddy McDowell is entirely absent (unless you count the opening footage culled from the original film). Maybe it’s the sort-of-silly rally cries of Ursus, maybe it’s the freakish, sort-of-hilarious culture of the radiation-scarred humans, maybe it’s Franciscus’ vain chuckle-illiciting attempts to mimic Heston. Somehow though, in all its absurdity, Beneath the Planet of the Apes adds up to an enjoyable campfest.

3/5 Stars.