Beneath the Planet of the Apes

Following directly in the wake of the first film this has another ship crash landing in the future and its sole survivor Brent (James Franciscus) encountering Nova (Linda Harrison), Zira (Kim Hunter) and heading out to look for the missing Taylor.

Meanwhile the more aggressive of the Apes are preparing for war...

This is patchy. It avoids the worldbuilding of the first so can get more done but squanders that time in having the pair captured by Apes and then escaping.

The nuclear bomb worshipping psychic mutants are iconic, I distinctly remember the walls of fire and other illusions from when I saw this as a child.

Chekhov's bomb of course has to go off. Which makes for an abrupt and anticlimactic ending despite whatever the voice-over says.

They tried to continue the anti-war and anti-racist themes but it feels like they're paying lip service here and it wants to be about action without really delivering that either.

Not as whip sharp as the first 6/10.