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Critics Consensus: Beneath the Planet of the Apes delivers more action than its predecessor -- unfortunately, at the expense of the social subtext that elevates the franchise's best entries.
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Critic Consensus: Beneath the Planet of the Apes delivers more action than its predecessor -- unfortunately, at the expense of the social subtext that elevates the franchise's best entries.
All Critics (25) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (10) | Rotten (15) | DVD (5)
Hokey and slapdash.
This first sequel to Planet of the Apes isn't bad, but already shows the way the original conception was to degenerate into routine comic strip adventure.
There are a lot of good ideas peppered throughout the screenplay by Paul Dehn...The problem is that none of these ideas are properly nurtured.
Suffers from Jaws 2 syndrome, attempting to replicate the beats of the first film too closely with much of the same cast reprising their roles and character ticks and because of that, it simply doesn't have its own fingerprint.
The best parts of the film are also the places where it's most ineffective as a sequel.
Social commentary was not one of this glum film's strong points.
annoying sequel
[A] quickie follow-up that vainly tries to imitate the look of the original on an obviously limited budget, and for the most part, eschews the philosophical, social, and racial subtext of the first film in favor of straightforward shoot-em-up.
A lot less poky than the original, and generally more entertaining.
One of the best sequels ever, building on the story while re-delivering what fans liked about the first
More rubbery ape masks, but grimmer and sillier.
An effective sequel that takes an increasingly dark look at the unavoidable nature of war.
In one of the biggest sequel letdowns I have ever seen, "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" follows another astronaut who crash lands on the same planet as Taylor from the first film while searching for him. He learns about the planet's true identity very quickly and the first half just feels like it borrows heavily from the script of the first. It is very lazy screenwriting and when they eventually do explore beneath the planet, it just becomes bizarre and laughable. I did not care what happened to any of these characters, because their motivations are manipulated throughout and you cannot latch onto anything that is happening. I really wanted to like this film, but it just flat out drops the ball. Terrible writing, horrible effects, and lukewarm performances, "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" is not worth your time at all. Although I do applaud a few nice touches, this film is a piece of garbage.
Super Reviewer
Decent first sequel to the Planet Of The Apes. Beneath The Planet of the Apes isn't as solid as the first film in the series, which is by far one of the all time Sci-fi classics of the genre. This sequel had a lot of potential, unfortunately compared to the first film; this is a film that is quite disappointing considering how good the first film is. This film is mildly entertaining. But like I stated, this film is disappointed especially for the fact that it follows a timeless classic film. The filmmakers tried to outdo the first film with this film, and ended up with mixed results. The film is entertaining, and has some decent performances, but overall there's something missing to really make this an awesome Apes movie. The films story could have been better, and this is a step down from the first film. Despite the good cast, director Ted Post has a disappointing script to work with, and can't direct this good cast into doing a good film. The result is a decent entertaining film. But right from the start, you realize that Beneath The Planet Of The Apes isn't a standout sequel, and it's only decent, never great. This film could have been a wonderful sequel, but the studio seemed to rush to produce a sequel to cash in on the success of the first, and instead of taking their time with a great idea, they only did half a good job, and the scripts limitation definitely show on-screen.
Cornelius: If you are caught by the gorillas, you must remember one thing. John Brent: What's that? Cornelius: Never to speak! John Brent: What the hell would I have to say to a gorilla?
Very campy and dated, but oddly very entertaining. The story starts the same as the first movie with an astronaut landing and dealing with the shock of the Apes. But the second half is where the movie goes into it's own. Cheesy effects and fight scenes are easily overlooked with a good story. I really dug what happens towards the end with the bomb and the people using their mind control. Very ahead of it's time, just like the first one. Good campy sci-fi fun never hurt nobody.
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