King King (1976)

Rating 3/5

With Kong: Skull Island being a semi-recent release, and the new Godzilla movie approaching, I found myself wanting to go back aways to when King Kong was first presented with a soul.

King Kong stars Jeff Bridges as Jack Prescott, a stowaway on a Petrox ship, on its' way to an island encased in fog, suspected to contain enough oil to catapult Petrox into infinite wealth. However, Jack is not interested in the oil, he is interested in the life, or more specifically the primates, that could inhabit the island.

Now anyone who has ever seen a King Kong movie knows that there has to be a blonde woman for Kong to pick up and carry around- Introducing Jessica Lange. Dwan is a young aspiring actress who's finds herself on the Petrox expedition after the ship she was on crashed and sank into the sea. She is full of life and energy, and wants to be involved in the initial exploration of the island, and due to her looks, the crew just can't say no.

Admittedly I have yet to see the original 1933 King Kong, but I do know for a fact that this movie changed the course of all Kong movies by creating a caring relationship between Kong and his captive blonde companion. By adding this new element to the giant ape, the audience sees King Kong as more than just a monster, but as something that deserves protection and respect.

Ok, so this movie is pretty cheesy, but show me a giant monster movie that isn't. Given that the movie was made in the late 70s, the special effects are about as good as the decade would allow, but they do use an impressive amount of practical effects, including the massive mechanical gorilla hands that actually lifted Jessica Lange to a height of about 40ft.

This movie definitely has some flaws, such as the dialogue is quite corny and the capture of Kong has some glaring issues, but the actors approach the story with a sense of integrity that is definitely to be respected. I personally really enjoy this movie, not because it is a great monster movie, but because it is a lot of fun.