Battle Beneath the Earth (1967)

These guys are supposed to be Chinese?, 2 August 2008

It'll never be on my "favorites" list, but Battle Beneath the Earth is not a half bad way to waste away an hour and a half or so. The movie is beyond silly, but that's what makes it fun and entertaining. The plot involves a Chinese General named Chan Lu (Martin Benson) who has a plan to destroy the United States from below. Using his boring machine, he and his renegade army have dug several large tunnels below the North American continent that they plan to use to launch a nuclear attack. Armed with his own borer, Cmdr. Jonathan Shaw (Kerwin Mathews) leads an American expeditionary force to investigate and stop General Lu in his tracks.

Everything about this movie is utterly ridiculous. The plot, acting, and special effects are all ridiculous. The movie seems to have been made on a budget less than what a grande Starbucks might cost. I swear I saw our heroes go past the same stack of crates about a half a dozen times in their escape from the tunnels. And whose idea was it to use so many non-Asians in all the primary Chinese roles? These people look about as Asian as I do (which is not at all). Finally, the whole thing is shot in a style reminiscent of the 60s Batman television show with overly bright primary colors, poor and fake looking props, and weak staging in the action sequences. Still, it's all these factors that make the movie a blast. It might not work for everyone, but I enjoyed Battle Beneath the Earth. A 6/10 seems about right.

6/10