La Revanche de King Kong

I've seen this film a number of times growing up. Most recently in '94. I can't wait to see it again! I loved it. Loved it all. The bad guy was scary when I was young but was down right hip when I saw it when I was older. The characters were pretty much weak and the story was weak but when "Kong" gets mad and starts kicking butt; I just enjoy the ride. I don't recommend this as a "feel good" movie. Nor is it a "cinema experience" of note. It is entertaining and fun if you're a "Kong" fan like me. The props and costumes are old school and cheap! Brings back all sorts of fun memories. The soundtrack was also cool too. Excellent inspiration for aspiring Avant-Garde types. I loved this film!

This is the second film to feature the "Toho Kong". This film features plenty of action and is pretty much a copy of the original Kong (especially the scene where Kong and his Mecha double climb Tokyo Tower a la the Empire State Building). The big difference is that the girl isn't scared of Kong like Fay Wray was (note, there is no evidence that proves that this Linda Miller is Jackie Gleason's daughter. By all accounts she was a teen-aged model living in Japan at the time who was cast in this film.). Despite the fact that the film lifts several elements from the original, it stands on its own as a pure escapist fun.

As it states under 'Trivia', 'King Kong Escapes' was a tie-in to the Rankin-Bass 'King Kong' cartoon series, and to be honest, this film is very much a children's movie, featuring a cartoonish super-villain, a faintly ridiculous plot and comical fight scenes. This shouldn't be taken to mean that I hate the film, however. While it's not as good as Toho's previous Kong outing, 'King Kong VS Godzilla', it's still okay if you're in the mood for that kind of thing. I've never seen the cartoon, but the plot of this film is straightforward enough that you don't need to.

The film does have a number of flaws, the most notable being King Kong himself. I personally thought the ape suit from KKVG looked pretty impressive, but KKE's version is more than a little silly, particularly the face, with its wide, staring eyes and permanently open mouth, which makes Kong look like he's high. Also, the fights with the other monsters aren't overly impressive; the battle on Mondo Island (Kong had obviously moved from Skull Island after it was destroyed at the end of Son of Kong) with Gorosaurus is actually quite funny, particularly when Kong gets repeatedly drop-kicked, but the showdown with Mecha-Kong is a bit anticlimactic, particularly compared to the city-destroying smackdowns of KKVG and the best of the Godzilla series.

The plot is some silly gubbins about mining a radioactive element, and King Kong comes into the story after the evil Dr Who (not the time-travelling character from the long-running British T.V series) builds a robot ape, only for it to fail. He then kidnaps the real Kong, but he escapes (hence the title) and the usual Kaiju action ensues. The human element is rather bland, although this is probably the fault of the script rather than the actors. Linda Miller is the ersatz Fay Wray of this picture, her role generally consisting of being picked up by Kong and trying to save the big ape from getting into trouble. Rhodes Reason is solid if unspectacular, and Dr. Who makes a good, over-the-top villain.

Having said that, I do think it's a shame Toho never made any more Kong movies. Personally, I would have loved to have seen Mecha-Kong come back, perhaps in a Godzilla movie. Given that Godzilla battled so many monsters over the years, it might have been interesting if he had come up against King Kong again, maybe in a scenario that forced them to work together against one or more of the many monster that big G faced.

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.

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.