First sequel to 1968's "Planet of the Apes" makes a laughable attempt to continue with the story (the filmmakers really boxed themselves into a corner with the original, hindered further by star Charlton Heston, who didn't want to continue with his role). Heston-lookalike James Franciscus plays an astronaut searching for the original missing space travelers and gets caught in that same old time-warp wherein he's eventually confronted by the apes; he also discovers an underground army harboring an Atom bomb. Heston does make an extended cameo in the film, but getting his character in and out of the action proved to be too much--it just keeps getting sillier. Fetching ape-scientist Kim Hunter is hardly around this time, and what happened to Roddy McDowall as her partner? The film's production is fine, and the underground sets are incredible, but this installment is a pale imitation. ** from ****
Review of Beneath the Planet of the Apes
