The first film is awesome. But the 2nd one was always my favorite. It has strange desert locations, weird underground subway tunnels, odd melted cityscapes, telepathic mutants who worship a "doomsday bomb". It has more of Linda Harrison of the fabled fur bikini. It has both Chuck Heston and James Franciscus beating the crap out of each other! It has naked apes in steam-baths! I was always shocked by the nihilistic and super-violent ending when I saw this film as a child and a recent re-viewing shows it to still be a disturbingly grim bout of gun play. The director, Ted Post, also directed the 2nd of the Dirty Harry films and he shows a Peckinpah-like ability to "put the sting back in Death".
What is amusing today is watching the film conclude with James Franciscus pinned to a wall with bullet holes stitched across his chest and Chuck Heston clutching his bloody fingers to the "button" thus leading to the complete destruction of the entire planet...and then an old MPAA rating pops up immediately telling you you have just watched a G-Rated film!
What is amusing today is watching the film conclude with James Franciscus pinned to a wall with bullet holes stitched across his chest and Chuck Heston clutching his bloody fingers to the "button" thus leading to the complete destruction of the entire planet...and then an old MPAA rating pops up immediately telling you you have just watched a G-Rated film!