The first film of the Ape franchise- The Planet of Apes-1968 remains a landmark sci-fi classic and its ending left a lot of viewers wanting to know what happened next!
The second part Beneath The Planet of Apes-1970 takes the story and the franchise further. I remember watching Beneath The planet of Apes as a child on VHS in late 1980s and being stunned by it. Later I came to know that this sequel was not that high rated and many felt it didn't match the magic of the first movie.
After decades, I found the film and gave it a re watch and could connect the story from part 1. The film begins with the climax of 1968 classic and we see the lead couple again getting into fresh troubles on the planet. Enter the second astronaut hero who comes to find his team mate and he also gets trapped in this planet of deceit, apes and mutants. He eventually solves the mystery and finds what is "BENEATH" The planet of Apes.
The sequel has too many things combined into it- astronauts, apes, evolution, nuclear warfare, time travel, end of days, mutants, telepathy and of course man vs apes. The initial part gets heavy and slow as you feel kind of déjà vu from part 1 and this is why I understand critics were not kind to the film. Also one can feel the impact of Star Trek and real life nuclear warfare in the film. However, after a sluggish part the film picks up pace and totally changes the plot mixing many sci-fi elements and making the sequel totally engrossing and very different from part 1. Honestly barring the middle 20-25 minutes I loved the film!!
The sets, action, make up, and visuals are stunning. The climax of part 1 was definitely haunting but here also the climax leaves a lot thinking amidst all the sci-fi. A sequel which packs a punch and even though cant match the part 1 yet stands tall as an individual sci fi film !!!
The second part Beneath The Planet of Apes-1970 takes the story and the franchise further. I remember watching Beneath The planet of Apes as a child on VHS in late 1980s and being stunned by it. Later I came to know that this sequel was not that high rated and many felt it didn't match the magic of the first movie.
After decades, I found the film and gave it a re watch and could connect the story from part 1. The film begins with the climax of 1968 classic and we see the lead couple again getting into fresh troubles on the planet. Enter the second astronaut hero who comes to find his team mate and he also gets trapped in this planet of deceit, apes and mutants. He eventually solves the mystery and finds what is "BENEATH" The planet of Apes.
The sequel has too many things combined into it- astronauts, apes, evolution, nuclear warfare, time travel, end of days, mutants, telepathy and of course man vs apes. The initial part gets heavy and slow as you feel kind of déjà vu from part 1 and this is why I understand critics were not kind to the film. Also one can feel the impact of Star Trek and real life nuclear warfare in the film. However, after a sluggish part the film picks up pace and totally changes the plot mixing many sci-fi elements and making the sequel totally engrossing and very different from part 1. Honestly barring the middle 20-25 minutes I loved the film!!
The sets, action, make up, and visuals are stunning. The climax of part 1 was definitely haunting but here also the climax leaves a lot thinking amidst all the sci-fi. A sequel which packs a punch and even though cant match the part 1 yet stands tall as an individual sci fi film !!!
Tell Your Friends