Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) (Widescreen)

Disappointment

By Michael T  Jul 25, 2001

The immediate successor to "Planet Of The Apes" traps itself in parody without intention by sacrificing subtle allegory for the overt. One example in specification illustrates chimpanzees in protest- without conviction- of the conflict the gorillia m...ilitary is about to provoke thus mirroring the unrest due to the war in Vietnam. Yet the worst in evidence is the small circle of humans who retain the intellect of previous civilization and praise an atomic missile that they deify by hymns that contain lyrics which are enough for the ardent of this science fiction franchise to squirm. In addition we witness the premise that the holocaust gave its ancestors and therefore this subtarranean force the power to create illusions even if the audience of "Beneath The Planet Of The Apes" is to assume nothing of value can originate from war which defeats in part its point. The late James Franciscus at center stage is earnest yet the weak framework of the entire project restricts him as nothing more than an inferior Heston. Somehow Paul Dehn was given the greenlight for his script after several rejections by 20th Century Fox of other proposals. Yet quality from the blue print of an exceptional sequel courtesy of Dehn would surface in subsequent projects but not in "Beneath The Planet Of The Apes". Read more Less