--- title: "Beneath the Planet of the Apes: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/beneath-the-planet-of-the-apes/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/beneath-the-planet-of-the-apes" critics_score: 43 critics_reviews: 10 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970): what the critics said Critics' score 43 from 10 reviews: 2 positive, 2 mixed, 6 negative. Most critics find this a lesser sequel to Planet of the Apes, and six of the ten reviews are negative. Where praise exists, it gathers in two places: the production design of the underground mutant city, with its ruined New York landmarks, and the ending, which even the harshest notices concede is bold and bleak. Reservations centre on everything before that finale. Several critics see the first half as a clunky rehash of the original, reusing sets and plot beats on a reduced budget, with Charlton Heston barely present. The telepathic mutants and their bomb cult are called schlocky by some and heavy-handed by others; The New Yorker objects to the film lecturing on imperialism and the Bomb rather than satirising anything. The spread is wide. The contemporary notices from 1970 are the most hostile, while later writers at HeyUGuys and Film Stories rate it a brave, imaginative sequel, and Radio Times calls it the best of the follow-ups. ## Radio Times — Alan Jones Rating 3/5. The first sequel to the enormously successful Planet of the Apes is also the best. Less subtle and profound than its predecessor, it's still an exciting and colourful action adventure with a startling finale. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-lbifyj/beneath-the-planet-of-the-apes/) ## Empire — Ian Nathan Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 28 March 2006. The critic views it as a fair but lesser sequel to the original film, hampered by a reduced budget and Charlton Heston's minimal involvement. They praise the elaborate design of the Forbidden City while noting the shift to a more gothic, action-oriented tone replaces the original's sharp satire. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/beneath-planet-apes-review/) ## The New Yorker — Penelope Gilliatt Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 13 June 1970. This is the most left-wing ape picture yet, overloaded with thunderingly platitudinous opinions on every large subject from imperialism to the Bomb. It is frightening in the wrong way, by weight of attitudinizing rather than force of satire, and the story is not the right receptacle for such big notions. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1970/06/20/the-current-cinema-14) ## RogerEbert.com — Gerardo Valero Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 8 April 2024. This is one of the lesser films in the series, rehashing sets and plot elements from the original while introducing implausible elements like telepathic mutants worshiping a bomb. The apocalyptic ending works reasonably well but the film loses impact without the original's surprise factor. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/ape-shall-not-kill-ape-a-look-at-the-entire-apes-franchise) ## The New York Times — A. H. Weiler Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 29 May 1970. The sequel is a derivative melodrama and pretty juvenile, proving that a follow-up to striking science fiction can fall short. It has a few amusing and creative scenes to its credit, such as chimps picketing for peace and views of ruined New York landmarks as the mutants' sanctuary. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1970/05/29/archives/the-screen-beneath-the-planet-of-the-apes-arrives.html) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1969. This sequel is hokey and slapdash, with the story and direction falling far short of the original. Dialog, acting and direction are substandard, though the apocalyptic ending draws on the first film's closing sequence. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1969/film/reviews/beneath-the-planet-of-the-apes-1200422281/) ## HeyUGuys — Cai Ross Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 12 July 2017. The critic praises it as a brave and imaginative first sequel with effective telepathic mutants and imaginatively rendered sets, noting its subversive and extremely downbeat ending as continuing the original's subversive nature. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/planet-of-the-apes-history/) ## Film Stories — A J Black Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 15 May 2024. The critic views the film as a brave and imaginative sequel that serves as a parable for the atomic age, ending on a striking down note by destroying Earth, reflecting Cold War anxieties. They single out the script's bold apocalyptic conclusion for praise in its daring. [Read the review](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/planet-of-the-apes-revisiting-the-unique-1970s-sequels/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating C-. 26 May 2020. The film suffers from schizophrenia as it fails to reconcile its plotlines or match the original's cleverness and consistency in exploring the human condition. Director Ted Post creates a creepy and atmospheric underground setting, but the story is undermined by bland characters and muddled symbolism. [Read the review](https://collider.com/beneath-the-planet-of-the-apes-review/) ## Paste — Oktay Ege Kozak Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 10 May 2024. The sequel feels like a rushed, clunky remake of the original in its first half before descending into schlocky B-movie territory with telekinetic mutants and an atomic bomb cult. The ending is memorably bizarre, but the preceding 90 minutes are pretty dreadful. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/planet-of-the-apes/you-blew-it-up-all-planet-of-the-apes-movies-ranke) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/beneath-the-planet-of-the-apes.md