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From Amazon.co.uk
The second--and most horrifying--of the five Planet of the Apes movies, this film goes where few end-of-the-world movies ever dare tread. It's the far future. The mass of humanity has descended into speechless savagery, kept as captive animals by the talking apes who have inherited the world. Two astronauts from our time have landed here, retracing the path of their lost comrade, Captain Taylor (Charlton Heston). Unfortunately, they've landed in the middle of a grim situation. Warlike gorillas are preparing to eliminate the last shards of shattered human civilization, a degenerate, subterranean cult worshipping the greatest of all human achievements--the cobalt bomb. As well as rescuing Taylor, the two men have to stop the gorillas from wiping out humanity ... and stop humanity from fulfilling their self-appointed, self-destructive destiny. This is both thrill-a-minute science fiction and a surprisingly deep reflection on the human condition. Plus, it's got lots of guys in really keen ape suits. --Grant Balfour
Product Description
In this sequel to 'Planet of the Apes', astronaut Brent (James Franciscus) is on a special mission to rescue George Taylor (Charlton Heston). Teaming up with Taylor's mute former comapnion, Nova (Linda Harrison), Brent travels to the ape village where he was imprisoned. After meeting Dr Zira (Kim Hunter), Brent learns that Taylor was last seen in the Forbidden Zone. He sets off in pursuit, and discovers that his colleague has been taken prisoner by an underground society of telepathic mutant humans who worship an atomic warhead. Meanwhile, Dr Zaius (Maurice Evans) has joined a gorilla expedition to investigate the strange goings on in the Zone. Followed by 'Escape from the Planet of the Apes'.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By L. Davidson
VINE™ VOICE
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
"Beneath The Planet of the Apes" is an unusual and often strange sequel to the classic original. This film sees another time travelling astronaut from Earth called Brent crash land on the planet and suffer a similar ordeal to Charlton Heston's Taylor, namely getting captured by the apes and managing to escape from them into the Forbidden Zone. The apes in "Beneath" invade the Zone in an attempt to root out any surviving humans and to extend their control. Brent and the apes eventually encounter a bizarre mutated band of humans in a subterranean hide out who worship a primed atomic bomb. Will it explode, will the apes succeed with their invasion or will Brent,Taylor and Nova calmly ride off into the sunset ? "Beneath" is an adequate sequel to a seminal science fiction film and I found it to be watchable and relatively entertaining.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Sheer magic. The previous film left with astronaut Taylor hunched in despair in front of the statue of liberty...feeling more lost and alone than ever. This film kicks off from this moment as Taylor and Nova head deeper into the Forbidden Zone...and come across a race of crazed and mutated humans who live beneath the ruins of New York and worship a Doomsday bomb.
Meanwhile, astronaut Brent also crash lands on the planet on a mission to rescue Taylor, but ends up in a similar pickle to Taylor in the previous film - alone and stranded and pursued by the apes.
Having learnt of the potential threat from the mutants, the apes (led by General Ursus and Zauis) send an army into the Forbidden Zone. Apes, mutants and astronauts all battle it out before the Doomsday bomb - the holy weapon - in a stunning climax!
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By S J Buck
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
The second film in the Planet of the Apes series is a reasonable sequel, but really lacking most of the originals zest and panache. Charlton Heston briefly reprises his role as Taylor, and in fact the opening to the film, is a reprise of the ending of the original, which is the best bit of the film. Heston reappears in the last 15 mins as well.
With the surprise element lost (because of the ending of the first film), the sequel is mostly formulaic and limited to occasional good scenes. But none have the impact of Hestons first words to the Apes, or the impact of finding the Statue of Liberty on the beach in the original film.
The special effects retain the same high standards as the first film for the apes, but the matt paintings used in the underground scenes now look obvious and dated. Brent as played by James Franciscus is effectively a Charlton Heston/Taylor look-a-like except he doesn't have the screen prescence that Heston brought to the Taylor role.
So overall this is a decent film. Its a lot better than some of the later sequels, but not a patch on the original. Buy if cheap, or get it in the boxed set of 'Ape' films if the price is right.
With the surprise element lost (because of the ending of the first film), the sequel is mostly formulaic and limited to occasional good scenes. But none have the impact of Hestons first words to the Apes, or the impact of finding the Statue of Liberty on the beach in the original film.
The special effects retain the same high standards as the first film for the apes, but the matt paintings used in the underground scenes now look obvious and dated. Brent as played by James Franciscus is effectively a Charlton Heston/Taylor look-a-like except he doesn't have the screen prescence that Heston brought to the Taylor role.
So overall this is a decent film. Its a lot better than some of the later sequels, but not a patch on the original. Buy if cheap, or get it in the boxed set of 'Ape' films if the price is right.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing sequel with massive plot holes
I purchased Planet of the Apes on blu-ray from Amazon recently, and thoroughly enjoyed it - an epic science fiction movie with a very original and thought-provoking story (at the... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Bruce Haldane
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nihilism for the masses
Spoilers!
There's no denying that 'Beneath' is a worthy - if slightly repetitive - sequel to the classic original. Read more
There's no denying that 'Beneath' is a worthy - if slightly repetitive - sequel to the classic original. Read more
Published on 1 April 2011 by Ian Armer
3.0 out of 5 stars
Poor Nova is really hard of learning
This second film is even more pessimistic than the first one. The apes turn military and war-minded because the gorillas take over and for them the only good human is a dead human. Read more
Published on 28 Aug 2010 by Jacques COULARDEAU
4.0 out of 5 stars
Damn You All To Hell!
A monstrously nihilistic piece of cinema, `Beneath the Planet of the Apes' is the first and best sequel to the towering work of sf genius that is `Planet of the Apes': considering... Read more
Published on 19 April 2010 by G. Meldrum
3.0 out of 5 stars
A movie of two halves
A movie of two very distinct halves.
The first 45 minutes of this movie are a fairly well-handled reprise, picking up from where "Planet Of The Apes" left off. Read more
The first 45 minutes of this movie are a fairly well-handled reprise, picking up from where "Planet Of The Apes" left off. Read more
Published on 26 Aug 2009 by Mr. Stuart Bruce
3.0 out of 5 stars
Worship the bomb.
Roddy McDowall was unable to appear in this film as he had commitments elsewhere, you'd think this would have affected the film but with Cornelius only playing a minor role in the... Read more
Published on 28 Jan 2008 by @GeekZilla9000
3.0 out of 5 stars
More of the same, only different.
*NO SPOILERS*
Superficially the most similar film in the series to its seminal predecessor, right down to the casting of James Franciscus as a sort of cut-price Charlton... Read more
Superficially the most similar film in the series to its seminal predecessor, right down to the casting of James Franciscus as a sort of cut-price Charlton... Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2005 by Dennis E. Sisterson
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