FRANCHISE ME: BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES

The reason for the "lack of apes" is simple..................this one had a smaller budget.  Instead of going big, they cut back.  In most interviews, the producers still lament this decision to this day.  I believe the budget basically stayed the same on films 2-4 though, before being cut back again on the fifth film (yet another entry that should have gone big!).

I used to hate this sequel back in the day, but I have grown to love it.  Same goes for the fifth film.  Beneath is nowhere near as good as the classic original, but on the whole it really isn't a bad sequel.  It might not be as creatively inventive as the two entries that follow it, but it's still a pretty good movie in my eyes.

My favorite bit from your article:

James Gregory was always great as blowhards and he is a delight as General Ursus. He does a great job of serving as comic relief while also serving as a motivating antagonistic force. Plus his helmet is bitchin’.

Ursus is definitely one of my favorite characters in the series, despite only appearing in one film.

One can only imagine what Orson Welles would've done with the Ursus role, though, if you go by the AMC documentary.

But yeah...Gregory kicks ass onscreen, even in the full-body sauna scene with Zaius, which undoubtedly fueled the fantasies of plushies the world over for years afterward.

I always forget about that sauna scene and am jarred by it every time I watch the film.  Not because I have a problem with it, but because it's just unexpected.  I really don't know why I can't ever seem to remember it.