**James Franciscus versus the mutant lunatics!** A great, dark sequel to the original classic that goes beyond the downbeat ending of the original and gives us an even more depressing one! No mean feat considering how bleak the ending to the first movie was. I love this movie. The legendary James Franciscus _(The Valley Of Gwangi_) is astronaut Brent - sent to find the missing Taylor. He finds him, of course,…

_**Classic Sci-Fi Adventure with a KILLER Ending**_ Of the five original "Planet of the Apes" films only the first one (1968) and this sequel, "Beneath" (1970), are truly great and worthwhile. The three prequels devolve in quality: "Escape from" (1971) has its points of interest and amusement, "Conquest of" (1972) is okay, but too one-dimensional, and "Battle for" (1973) is weak. "Beneath" is the only actual…

Enjoyable mostly due to returning cast members, this first sequel could have been so much more. Sadly, this has "money grab" written all over it. Heston was reluctant to return, and only agreed once promised his character Taylor would die. One can only wonder what might have been had he been more enthusiastic, perhaps a decent plot and script? Sigh...

Quite a far way off its predecessor, even if <em>'Beneath the Planet of the Apes'</em> is still a good film. Charlton Heston <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beneath_the_Planet_of_the_Apes#:~:text=Although%20Charlton%20Heston,go%20to%20charity" rel="nofollow">reportedly</a> wasn't initially interested in returning for a sequel, though, to his credit, did in the end return briefly to tie up his character's…