El regreso de King Kong

Yes, there is a difference in American King Kong and Japanese King Kong. Japanese Kong is much bigger and stronger and would be ashamed to be taken down by planes. Also, he would not climb the Empire State building, he would most likely annihilate it. He is back after his fight with Godzilla to once again save the day to some extent. It has been awhile since he last grace the screen since that fight, but somehow he manages to get tangled in a plot by some madman to dig up stuff in a mine. This madman already has the formidable MechaKong at his disposal, but MechaKong is incapable of digging in said mine thanks to something down there that causes it to malfunction. So they capture the real monkey and somehow hypnotize it to dig for them. Still you know in the end there is going to be a showdown between Kong and his mechanical counterpart. A fairly decent movie from the company of Toho, however I will always like Godzilla the best. Still, they have enough monsters and some pretty good fights to keep one entertained. I do believe this was Japanese King Kong's last movie, which is a bit sad, I would have loved to have seen a reemergence during the Hensei Godzilla movies and had Godzilla get some revenge for that earlier loss. MechaKong is rather cool, but not as cool as MechaGodzilla, mainly because MechaGodzilla just had way to many cool weapons and was a way more impressive fighting machine.

I've seen "King Kong Escapes" several times on American television with English dubbing, commercial interruptions, scenes omitted, and full-screen format. Despite all that, I found "King Kong Escapes" to be a fun, silly, enjoyable fantasy movie. One criticism I have is that the fight between Kong and robot Kong was too short.

Many reviewers have complained about the annoying voice of Linda Miller, but this was actually the voice of another actress. For some reason, the producers decided to dub Miller, even though she spoke English.

I recently purchased a DVD copy of this movie on eBay, with the original Japanese dialogue, uncut, in wide-screen. The script is slightly more mature and sensible, and the Japanese dubbing of the English speaking actors (Rhodes Reason, Miller) is done very well. Even the Japanese version is silly, though. But like I said, silly in an enjoyable way.

Kaiju fans like me always know well enough to check our desire for (a) believable dialogue and (b) completely realistic special effects at the door when we settle ourselves down to watch what Japan has specialized in for five decades now. As quality filmmaking, King Kong Escapes is of course laughably bad, especially to those who deify the 1933 original. But in the context of Japanese giant monster kaiju, King Kong Escapes is one of the better entries to be found, coming in the 1960s when the focus was less tounge in cheek, more action-oriented, and free of the kiddie thrust that REALLY made Japanese monster movies annoyingly bad in the 1970s (Gamera sequels and Godzilla vs. Gigan anyone?). In a ways, after the dark,brooding seriousness of the original "Godzilla" in 1954, the 1960s saw movies more in the Armageddon-Mummy vein of action, special effects and empty-headed scripts. And while those weaned on GCI will find this hard to believe, the work of Eiji Tsuburaya was considered top of the line for its day (when you stop to think of it, how different are the SFX of Japanese monster movies all that different from American movies, pre-2001: A Space Odyssey? Not much really). And truth be told, I find these kaiju movies of the 60s to have a lot more charm than their 90s American counterparts like "Armageddon" or the Tri-Star "Godzilla."

Eisei Ammamoto, a veteran of Japanese sci-fi, deliciously chews the scenery as the villainous "Dr. Who" while Bond girl veteran Mie Hama ("You Only Live Twice") provides lovely visual distraction as "Madame X", and is far more appealing than the bland non-actress Linda Miller (badly dubbed by cartoon voice Julie Bennett who also dubs Hama!) as the object of Kong's affection (and let's set the record straight, this is NOT the woman of the same name who is Jackie Gleason's daughter, no matter what the erroneous IMDB data base says). The most amusing part of the script is how they almost seemingly plagiarized from "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea" in their basic premise (a sub commander named Nelson for goodness sake!). No matter though. Bad dubbing, lame script notwithstanding, "King Kong Escapes" is pleasantly mind-numbing fun from the peak period of kaiju cinema.

Incidentally, I'm glad to note that Rhodes Reason, who by his own admission "knew the film was lousy but couldn't pass up the trip to Japan" to make it, was able to overcome this in the long-run and earn better notices as Daddy Warbucks in numerous Broadway productions of "Annie."

It would seem that the Eight Wonder of the World isn't just popular in America. After clashing with his biggest rival Godzilla, the big ape made another appearance in Toho Co.'s long line of kaiju films. Originally, King Kong was supposed to star in a film where he does battle with the sea monster Ebirah, but was ultimately replaced by Godzilla and the resulting film was "Godzilla vs the Sea Monster". However, at the time there was a Kong TV series, so Toho decided to loosely adapt that into film instead. The result was a fun kaiju thrill ride that is known to this day as "King Kong Escapes".

Plot: Somewhere in the North Pole lies a secret base, where lurks the nefarious criminal mastermind Doctor Hu (spelled Who in America, not to be confused with the TV show of the same name). Under the employment of the mysterious Madame X aka Madame Piranha, he builds a robotic version of King Kong to harvest a highly radioactive material called Element X. When Mechani-Kong proves less than reliable, Doctor Hu goes to the prehistoric jungles of Mondo Island to kidnap the real Kong to harvest the Element X. However, the great ape escapes (get it?) and with the help of his newfound human companions who discovered him on the island, King Kong does battle with his robot double in a giant-sized fight to the death in the heart of Tokyo.

This movie is cheesy and the acting is on par with the Adam West "Batman" series, but that's why I like it. The human characters stand out at least and have distinct personalities, from the level-headed Commander Carl Nelson, his trusted companion Jiro, and the beautiful Susan (Kong's love interest). Doctor Hu is a fun villain, over-the-top and being delightfully despicable (even if he has some ugliest bottom teeth in history). The effects are the standard guys-in-suits and miniature sets that are to be expected by Toho and, for the most part, they look good. The music by Akira Ifukube is also nice, great to hear and adding to the thrills and great action scenes throughout the film.

Now for the monster roll call! Kong looks kinda silly, looking a little more like Donkey Kong without the bow tie, but he definitely looks better than his appearance in "King Kong vs Godzilla". The filmmakers at least got his gorilla proportions right and he can still show emotion and character. He has the same roar as before too, which itself is cool. Now, a robot version of the ape might sound ridiculous (and it is), but Mechani-Kong is a good nemesis for his flesh-and-blood counterpart. If it weren't for Mechani-Kong, there wouldn't be a Mechagodzilla, so props to this movie. The mighty dinosaur Gorosaurus makes his first appearance in this film, putting up a good fight against King Kong, a homage to the original 1933 version. Gorosaurus would later have a role as Godzilla's ally in the hit kaiju classic "Destroy All Monsters" and gain a small bit of fame. I guess prehistoric reptiles gotta stick together, especially with those dang dirty apes around!

King Kong Escapes is an unforgettable kaiju film that definitely surpasses the dreadful "King Kong Lives" any day by a mile. It's full of nice characters, cool monster battles, fun cheesy effects, a memorable score, and a silly story too good to resist. Even if you're not a kaiju fan or a Kong fan for that matter, definitely check this one out for at least a few good laughs and thrills.

This movie is a follow-up to 1962's "King Kong vs. Godzilla." This time, King Kong was kidnapped by a mad scientist, who planned to use him to dig up Element X (a key ingredient for a nuclear bomb). Along the way Kong battles a giant sea snake, Gorosaurus (Godzilla's buddy) and a replica of himself called Mecha-Kong. The directing and special effects were OK, and the story was serviceable. I think that Toho intended to give this movie a James Bondish treatment, since "You Only Live Twice" (1967) was released the same year and actress Mie Hama, who appeared as bond girl Kissy in the 007 flick, appeared in this movie.

The movie could have used more suspense and human action. The monster scenes were OK, though some scenes, especially with the helicopters, were really cheesy. If Kong was almost the same size as Godzilla, I wouldn't think that he would be dwarfed by the Tokyo Tower (and having the ability to climb it). Nonetheless, I think the tower scene where the two monsters duke it out was a pretty remarkable special effect.

Four major problems I have with this movie are about the characters. First of all, Commander Nelson (Rhodes Reason) is supposed to be one of the heroes in the story, but he basically didn't do anything important. He lost a little Karate-fight to the main villain, and then played chess with him afterward while his two friends were confined to a below 0 degree cell! Also, his acting was plain. Second, Lieutenant Watson (Linda Miller) was a very annoying character and had such an irritating voice. However, her role is of some importance (especially in the parts where she told Kong to stop shaking the sub she and the crew were in and where she calmed Kong down while he was on the loose in Tokyo). Third, the part where Lt. Nomura (Akira Takarada) told an official he's Lieutenant Nomura (he's not in uniform) and asked to let him take command is a bit awkward. How would the official be sure he's who he claimed to be? Fourth, the henchmen in the movie were just stupid. To sum it all, the better acting actually goes to the two main villains! Dr. Who (Eisei Anamoto) gave an outrageously cruel performance. He's wildly funny, with his wild white hair and long black cape, and he's pretty darned skillful with the trigger. And, Madame Piranha (Mie Hama) steals the show. She's bewitching, spellbinding and beautiful. She is the true hero of the movie *spoiler* since it was she who destroyed Mecha-Kong's control system, thereby, defeating the robot completely. I wish she would have had a better fate in the movie.

The monster action was OK. City destruction was limited, though, and King Kong looked pretty dumb. The costume used for the monster was hideous, but still better than the one used in "King Kong vs. Godzilla."

Above all, this movie was very average - not the best from Toho. The plot lines really go all over the place. What made up for this movie was Akira Ifukube's great, haunting music score and Mie Hama.

Grade C+