I had every intention of giving this one the full X-E review treatment, but I've gotta admit defeat: Interest has waned, and there's no sense starting an article just because it was conceived. So forget it, let's make it quick and dirty: I kind of liked Son of Kong.
An infamous exploit that was somehow rushed into theaters in the very same year as the original King Kong (1933), the follow up is a more direct sequel that one might think. With Robert Armstrong reprising his role of Carl Denham and the events of the story set more or less directly following the father film, Son of Kong clocks in at just over an hour, and spends much of that time throwing crap at the walls just to be able to say it was over an hour long. With a tighter budget and an impossibly fast production turnaround, all of the fun on Skull Island had to be kept to a minimum. Denham and a skeleton crew head back to the mysterious lump of prehistory in search of rumored treasure. As Denham is being sued by everyone in New York City on account of the Raging Gorilla Action seen in King Kong, this is his only hope.
A lot of reviews paint Son of Kong as a more lighthearted film than its big daddy. I didn't really think so. Sure, Kong's son is goofy and affable, but that's no different than King Kong doing that Groucho thing with his brow when he first spots Ann in the original. Whatever. Skull Island is far less explored this time around, understandably, but even with a mere 20 minutes or so of the film set on the island, they managed to pack in enough monsters and mayhem to make it worth a watch. Highlights included:
- Denham and Damsel Du Jour befriending Kong's son (known to fans as "Kiko") by freeing him from a quicksand trap. They later bandage his finger and are rewarded with a hundred flying coconuts.
- Son of Kong battling a kickass giant bear, using ten trillion pro-wrestling maneuvers and managing to orchestrate a five star match without even a secondary championship on the line. Go Kong. And bear.
- Dinosaurs! They're back! A stegosaurs! A triceratops! And a sea serpent that's a hundred times cooler than anything seen in the original. Seriously.
Kong's son is all-hero in the film, never once a menace. I won't spoil the ending, but I wouldn't recommend watching it if you think WATCHING KONG'S SON DIE WILL MAKE YOU CRY. It's one of those sacrifice deals -- kinda sweet, actually. No idea why Son of Kong is so often ranked among the worst movies ever made; it's silly and unnecessary, sure, but so is every other movie starring monkeys. I say it's worth a watch.
Posted by Matt on 01/09/2006. E-mail me!
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