Featured Audience Ratings

• Conner R

  
  While it is a completely unnecessary sequel, it is incredibly fun. It's essentially a continuation of the first, but also a regurgitated plot. Carl Denham, The Skipper and Charlie the cook are all back for a second trip to skull island. Only this time, they meet Kong's… More
  While it is a completely unnecessary sequel, it is incredibly fun. It's essentially a continuation of the first, but also a regurgitated plot. Carl Denham, The Skipper and Charlie the cook are all back for a second trip to skull island. Only this time, they meet Kong's albino child who is far more compassionate.

• Tim S

  
  Not quite the magic of the original, it leaves you wondering why this was rushed out into theatres.

• The Movie W

  
  Considering "King Kong" is one of my favourite movies, I don't know why I put off watching it's immediate sequel for so long. The title character might be an offspring but in quality terms this is a distant cousin. Robert Armstrong returns as showman Carl Denham,… More
  Considering "King Kong" is one of my favourite movies, I don't know why I put off watching it's immediate sequel for so long. The title character might be an offspring but in quality terms this is a distant cousin. Robert Armstrong returns as showman Carl Denham, now bankrupt and pursued by process servers. Hearing of secret treasure, he returns to Skull Island which seems severely underpopulated by creatures compared to the first movie. The highlight is a fight between Kong Jnr and a giant bear but there's little here to satisfy monster fans. Audiences at the time must have felt so cheated.

• Cameron J

  
  In 1933, RKO Radio Pictures produced a grounbreaking mega-hit that has gone down in history as one of the most unique and successful films in cinematic history, and by the end of that year, they had already made the sequel. It should tell you just how charming Robert Armstrong is when… More
  In 1933, RKO Radio Pictures produced a grounbreaking mega-hit that has gone down in history as one of the most unique and successful films in cinematic history, and by the end of that year, they had already made the sequel. It should tell you just how charming Robert Armstrong is when they just go ahead and give him his own spin-off as Carl Denham; but hey, I can't blame them, because outside of Kong himself, Armstrong stole the show with his static charm that's especially strong this time around, because in here, he's showed just how perfect he is as an avatar for the audience. Well, I don't know if he's so much the audience's avatar all the way through, but I must admit that he real the nail dead on the head when he proclaimed something that tied everything together: "I never knew that ol' Kong had a son." By the time he said that about 40-something-minutes in, when we "first" meet Little Kong, we had pretty much forgotten about our titular little rascal, and it doesn't help that this film, itself, is forgettable enough as it is. No, this isn't that bad, but it's certainly not "King Kong"... which, in it of itself, wasn't all that stellar. Oh shut up old people; don't act like you weren't thinking it. But seriously though, it was still a good film with a reasonably decent follow-up, yet one not without its flaws, and plenty of them. A common issue with sequels that follow a different storyline from the predecessor is a lack of redevelopment, as the filmmakers keep thinking that the audience with immediately fall back into the characters, not realizing that they have to go through rebuilding emotional resonance, because, at the end of the day, it's still a new film, even if the characters are old. Well, ladies and gentlemen, even if the sequel arrives 9 months later, it still doesn't transcend that rule, and sure enough, exposition is lacking, leaving a gap in immediate emotional resonance that finds itself filled a little bit by later development, though you still never fully attach yourself to the characters, because the scope of the film lacks oomph. Don't get me wrong, there is some sense of adventure, but almost more than that, the film feels all but aimless, drifting to one event after another, padding things out to just barely make feature length, so much so that, as I said, it's not until we're a bit past the halfway mark before we actually get to see Little Kong. Of course, when Little Kong does arrive, he comes in as yet another flaw, serving as silly comic or even kiddie relief that drives such an inconsistency into an atmosphere that wasn't terribly dark, but still with some sense of danger. It's an underwhelming and sometimes inconsistent little venture that I'm not going to say had the potential of being extremely impacting, yet stands to be more memorable and rewarding than this. However, it's not like the film is completely unrewarding. As a sequel, it's lesser, and as its own film, it's improvable, but, if nothing else, expect this film to deliver on one pretty important thing: entertainment value. Now, I did say that there's not a whole lot of oomph in the adventure, yet at the same time, I did say that there is some sense of adventure to found here, and it's just enough to keep you going. The scope is smaller, yet the production designs are still lively in a very subtle fashion to give you that sense of progression, which isn't to say that there a couple of designs that really catch your eye, particularly the Little Kong effect. Now, much like the King Kong effect, it's not an ageless trick, but for its time, it was pretty top-notch, and even to this day, it's undeniably impressive, fitting organically in the film, both as style and substance. There's more silliness in Little Kong, and the relatively little booger is made a touch annoying for it, yet you still feel enough resonance off of the effect to invest in it and the character it's creating. Still, it's the flesh and blood performers that win you over the most, particularly, of course, the late, great Mr. Robert Armstrong, who returns as charming as ever as Carl Denham. The chemistry he and his castmates boast give the film intimacy, yet when it's Armstrong and Armstrong alone, well, it goes without saying that he owns that spotlight with charisma and that genuine sense of adventure that makes Carl Denham feel more like an unconventional character than he actually is. Armstrong has always brought uniqueness to an, on paper, generic character, and now, he gets to show that talent off more than ever, and while this film stands to step up its game, Armstrong delivers on that classic charisma that makes him a strong and consistently engaging lead in this film. Overall, its underdevelopment and occasional tonal inconsistencies are just a small piece in the pile of steam-killers that leave the film with limited energy and only so much worth remembering, yet what is worth remembering it pretty darn enjoyable, from the entertainment value to the special effects, but most of all, the charm, particularly that by leading Robert Armstrong, who's sharp chemistry with his castmates and even sharper stand-alone charisma is a key factor that makes "Son of Kong" a quite watchable sequel that is, if nothing else, consistently entertaining. 2.5/5 - Fair

• Matthew Y

  
  Oh my goodness and I thought it took too long for King Kong to get on screen in the first one. It takes almost an hour before the people get to the island and we get to see Kong Jr. From that point on the film's not bad as the more docile son of Kong tackles a couple island… More
  Oh my goodness and I thought it took too long for King Kong to get on screen in the first one. It takes almost an hour before the people get to the island and we get to see Kong Jr. From that point on the film's not bad as the more docile son of Kong tackles a couple island beasts to protect the humans. It ends on a high note as Kong sacrifices himself to keep a man above the pull of the sinking Skull Island. It if we're for all the time spent not on the island I might have considered giving it a 60% but with it the films an almost complete waste.

• Barry L

  
  Superb classic...the first of many, many, many remakes on the subject of big Gorillas.

• Anthony V

  
  This comedic sequel to King Kong, may rub some people the wrong way, but I thought it was amusing.

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