Horror_Metal Review of King Kong Lives

King Kong Lives (1986)

King Kong Lives (1986) is a pretty good sequel

[6/10 · 25 November 2005]

I have yet to read a positive review for this extremely underrated mildly amusing sequel to the 1976 remake of King Kong, which was also a great movie but not as good as the original smash fest of the 30s. A decade after our hero fell from the World Trade Center to his death, the big ape receives a heart transplant from a giant female gorilla of the same species, Lady Kong, who he falls in love with. The first time I heard this idea I figured this movie would suck and just be two guys in gorilla suits romancing over each other. But having loved its predecessor I had to check out this truly unique film. Unlike the rest of the Kong series this is more like a popcorn film that is here strictly to entertain us and isn't as deep as the previous films. Another kool thing is that Kong doesn't fall in love with a human girl (like every other Kong movie) but with an equal size girl ape which is, I think, a tremendous idea. Linda Hamilton (who I've always loved from the Terminator series) almost plays the same character she played from Dante's Peak and is responsible for Kong's blood transfusion. She is a great actress and came out of this movie OK. Indiana Jones wannabe Brian Kerwin plays her love interest and is also responsible for Kong's rebirth upon capturing Lady Kong. He does a superb job as well. The army is constantly causing problems for the ape couple but our two heroes (Hamilton and Kerwin) successfully stop them and near the end the two big apes have a Baby Kong (possibly setting up for another sequel). Yes this movie could have been called Bride of Kong and had a lot of high quality action scenes, some of which are actually quite gory for a Kong film (heads being bit off, people being tore in half, rubber alligators being chewed up) and seems a lot like a Godzilla film. Sure the plot gets a little silly and having two giant gorillas cuddle each other and act like humans is a bit much, but all the cheesy scenes are mediocre at best. And yes I did hate some of it, mostly the army scenes and the rubber alligator scene (really bad FX there) but being the sixth film in the Kong series, what more do you want? Seeing Kong smash stuff will make me happy. I now have this film in my Kong DVD collection along with King Kong '33, Son of Kong, and King Kong '76 (the two Japanese films will join them soon), I even have Might Joe Young though I don't count that as part of the series. I have now reviewed all the Kong films except the brand new 2005 remake which i simply can't wait to see. Review for that coming soon! Overall, I really enjoyed this film and it wasn't as bad as I expected nor as bad as people say. I give this worthy entry to the Kong series and great sequel to the 70's movie a 6/10.