1 Original film series 1.1 Planet of the Apes (1968) https://trakt.tv/movies/planet-of-the-apes-1968 1.2 Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) https://trakt.tv/movies/beneath-the-planet-of-the-apes-1970 1.3 Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) https://trakt.tv/movies/escape-from-the-planet-of-the-apes-1971 1.4 Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) https://trakt.tv/movies/conquest-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-1972 1.5 Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) https://trakt.tv/movies/battle-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-1973 2 Remake film 2.1 Planet of the Apes (2001) https://trakt.tv/movies/planet-of-the-apes-2001 3 Reboot film series 3.1 Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) https://trakt.tv/movies/rise-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-2011 3.2 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) https://trakt.tv/movies/dawn-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-2014 3.3 War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) https://trakt.tv/movies/war-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-2017

Not anywhere near as sharp or well crafted as the original- and two movies in Nova still isn’t an actual character- but it’s even more cynical in a way I can respect. It takes the pessimistic worldview of the first movie and takes it even further. Evolved humans and ape are equally cruel, equally foolish, equally arrogant. It is in both their natures to destroy, and to covet their tools of destruction, and there’s only one way that ends. It’s a great theme, and the ending is very daring. As cheesy as the effects are, the bleeding Lawgiver and the nuclear shrine are excellent setpieces and very striking. But as much as I like some of the weird sci fi, it’s not pulled off well enough to make up for how jarring it is compared to the first film and how it set itself apart from sci fi like this. I like the idea of the mutants, but they don’t ever feel as realized as the apes. Ureses never fully coalesces either. The first half is a pretty middling retread of what came before. Brent is just Taylor again but less realized in character and performance. Heston outshines him in the smallest moments like his delivery of ‘why not?’ and his last moments with Zaius. Zaius refusing to show empathy even at the end of all things is what dooms them all, proving Taylor’s nihilism from the very first scene of the first movie correct. For all its faults, this is an ambitious, pessimistic movie that lives up to the original’s legacy even if it doesn’t match it.

Quite a far way off its predecessor, even if 'Beneath the Planet of the Apes' is still a good film. Charlton Heston reportedly 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 loose end - and apparently even gave his fee to charity. That's why we don't see much of him here, which is a shame but given the aforementioned it came out well enough. James Franciscus takes over from Heston and does a fine job, the latter is definitely the better of the two but Franciscus is passable. Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans and Linda Harrison do return, though the first two basically play second fiddle to others - including newcomer James Gregory's bunch of characters; Gregory is solid, fwiw. As for the film's other parts, make-up etc., it's basically the same as the original. The plot even feels similar for a fair chunk of this production, though it eventually goes its own way. I'm even more interested to check out the subsequent sequels, given the ending to this 1970 film was apparently intended - by those on the ground, so to speak - to be the final entry; the studio evidently wasn't in agreement.

This is the sequel to the original "Planet of the Apes". James Franciscus is a suitable replacement for Charlton Heston. He plays Brent, an astronaut sent to find Heston's Taylor. He finds him alright, along with some angry apes and some even stranger mutants. Actually, this movie has more action than the first, but it's not nearly as smart or as good. Most of the movie concerns Brent, who is constantly being chased by the apes. But once our hero goes beneath the planet, this thing switches to an all-out, heavy-handed (or ham-fisted) anti-war statement. And that's fine except that the message is delivered with all the subtlety and grace of a sledge hammer. The first encounter with the apes is pretty impressive. There look to be dozens and dozens of actors in ape suits. It appears that they spent a lot of time and effort on the opening shots of "Ape City". That is until you get a closer look at the ape masks. They are terrible! Well terrible and funny at the same time. I also cracked up when a few of the ape leaders are discussing strategy in a sauna! The attempt at full body ape makeup was hilarious. Later, Brent meets up with Taylor in the underground city of the mutants. This is when the movie goes entirely off-the-rails. And the ending...you talk about abrupt. I just sat there with my mouth open. It just...ends. And ends with what is possibly the most downbeat conclusion in the history of Movies. I have to give it an extra point for that.

So, the movie already starts on weak footing. It tries to continue a story that, in my view, was closed and finished and needed nothing else. And it does a very weak job in trying to achieve it anyway. [spoiler] You have to be very lenient from the beginning. The explanation how the second ship got there is already soft and by shear coincidence Brent meets Nova right then and there. The story then just wafts along and you see the budget cut's at each and every corner. Only the top line of actors got the good makeup while every extra just got a non-moving pull-over mask. OK, probably not a big thing on a low resolution 70s movie. Following a series of Brent and Nova get hunted, captured, escape and get hunted again, we land in the nuked NY. All that was stuff the viewer doesn't need to see because we already know what happened and re-living it with Brent is, well, boring. We discover a human civilization that is telepathic and praises a nuclear bomb as its God. And I can't help but thinking that this was the age of LSD and how much the writers did consume. Especially seeing the doomsday mass. It comes to a final showdown between Ape and Men that results in the activation of the doomsday bomb and a voice from the Off declares that Earth is destroyed. And my immediate thought is: "Finally !" Now, to be fair, there are still the theme of how the Ape society mimics contemporary humans. You understand that this movie is aimed at the Vietnam war, you have the student protests f.e.. And the story is born out of the fear that a war like that could become the end of all, which cleary was what people were afraid of. You also see both sides making justifaction for their course of action and it's not difficult to see that both are wrong. There lies a wasted opportunity because all that time this movie favored action and shock moments over substance and story. Well, I'm expecting too much from the era. [/spoiler] Anyway, if you want to watch all the movies, go ahead. But be aware this is a massive drop from the first one. If you are just a casual viewer that liked te first and wants a sequel you better stay away.