 Cable's American Movie Classics celebrated the 30th anniversary of the original "Planet of the Apes" by showing all five of the Apes films endlessly over the past couple of months. The first movie I ever saw at a drive-in (the Cascade Outdoor Theater in West Chicago, IL) was "Planet" back in 1968. And by the time "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" came out, I was infected by rampant ape mania. Everything I did for the next five years was ape related. I walked ape, talked ape and dreamed ape. I know, at that time (1970), I thought "Beneath" was pretty darn cool. But, thanks to AMC and my being a member of that thing called adulthood, I now see "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" as hopeless and depressing - a studio looking to cash in the big chips quick. "Beneath was done on the cheap, was badly written and was even more badly acted. Heck, even Roddy McDowall took a pass on this one. Don't get me wrong - the idea, nuclear infected mutants living under the Forbidden Zone, is pretty good. Fresh. Sort of. But its execution is mind numbing and nonsensical. For instance, in the original film nobody knew what waited for them in the Zone - it was all speculation and myth perpetrated by the wiley orangutan, Dr. Zaius. But in "Beneath" an overzealous gorilla and war monger named Ursus knows that his army of simians must invade the Zone - for whatever is out there, its 'dangerous' to the 'life quality' of all apes. The Ursus rally is worn out in tired '60's protestations. Ursus spouts out hack 'war is good' dogma ("The only good human is a dead human") while chimpanzees (who are pacifists) protest this philosophy like mopes pacing in the background, carrying signs that say 'peace'. Of course, the chimps are rousted and clubbed by the gorilla police, making the viewer wish for the good old days of the 1968 Chicago Democratic convention, just to see a little action. The make-up for "Beneath" is strikingly bad. The masks for all of the background characters look like leftovers bought off the shelves at K-Mart the day after Halloween. Only the principal apes have the best make-up - and even that ain't good. James Franciscus, plays an astronaut named Brent who crash lands in the same future as did Charlton Heston in the original. Franciscus plays his role mimicing Heston's (who played Taylor in "Planet") voice inflections and isn't nearly as good (of course, good being relative) as ol' Chuck. Brent and Taylors' savage girlfriend Nova, hit the horses looking for the previous astronaut. They end up in New York City, which is buried under the radioactive sand of the Forbidden Zone. Forget any special effects - this NYC is merely a backdrop painting like something out of Ed Wood. Brent and Nova (both dressed in micro-mini loin cloths) meet the mutants, who communicate with eye blinks and beeps. And that's pretty much where the movie slams on the brakes. Screechingly dull with no surprises, "Beneath" is so inferior to the first Apes film that its a wonder anybody went to see it. But audiences did go, giving 20th Century Fox plenty of pocket dough to go and do another abysmal sequel called "Escape from the Planet of the Apes". The problem with "Beneath" was the lack of any kind of manic energy or conflict. The beauty of the first one was that Taylor and the audience were in a constant state of disbelief (not disbelief in the cinematic concept but disbelief in the warped 'reality' of this new world). Proof of intellegence was the main thrust in the first one and racial undertones were at a high level. But in "Beneath", Brent accepts the situation way too easily. Here's a guy who crash lands on a planet run by apes and pink mutants(our planet's future, in case you've had your head in the sand all these years) and doesn't question anything. He just crash lands, kicks ass and chews gum. And he's fresh out of gum. There's no psychological ramifications, no sexual connection with Nova, no philosophical rantings, and no kissy face with Zira. All of which kept Taylor motivated in the original. Sad to say, "Beneath" just looks like another hack sci-fi - money wasted on bad material that wouldn't be so bad if it took on more camp overtones, which it doesn't. "Planet of the Apes" survives because of its inherent campiness. "Beneath" is just a boring mess. About the author: E-mail comments about my reviews at Llewbar@aol.com. You may read another review, submit your own, or return home. |
