Welp, why not put this here, too...
Congo (1995 - US Netflix until September 30)
I've long believed that archaeology-themed pulp adventure stories just don't work in the modern age - not only is there the implicit baggage of imperialist (at best) overtones to deal with, there's just something about the feeling of adventure and discovery that falls apart when one brings in flashlights, automatic weapons, and (shudder) digital gadgetry. Does
Congo, a 1995 movie based on a 1980 Michael Crichton prove me wrong?
Oh,
heck, no. Granted the first half, in which a ragtag group of weirdos go off in search of King Solomon's Mines (making this story a quite literal H. Rider Haggard update), is fairly pretty decent. In classic adventure story style, the journey to the lost civilization is a long and hazardous one; we've also got Tim Curry hamming it up and Ernie Hudson playing a dashing adventurer, both of whom are fun. The representation of Africa and Africans (much of it shot in Costa Rica) is definitely suspect, so giving us a fearless Black leader, even a British one, was a good move.
Unfortunately, once the team gets to its destination, the movie falls comprehensively apart. Tim Curry's character is sorely lacking a twist, a half-baked sci-fi element including diamonds and lasers (and a ripoff of
Aliens' sentry guns) never really congeals, and a primary plot about returning a sign language-talking ape to her home jungle proves utterly tangential to the main story. Laura Linney is laughable as a badass former CIA operative, though the role as written is a mess. Dylan Walsh is kind of charming as the nominal protagonist, and his relationship with Amy the gorilla (a quite respectable Stan Winson suit effect) is quite nice, but the movie is such a mess, it can't decide whether to pair them up or not, and ends up just shrugging into the end credits.
The climax, meanwhile, is surprisingly gruesome for a mid-90s PG-13 adventure heavily advertised to kids, and yet it was still so ineptly staged, by career Spielberg producer (and only occasional director) Frank Marshall, that I laughed aloud at the movie several times. There's an almost community-theater feel to some of the scenes, despite the abundant Hollywood resources on screen.
So, is the movie worth at least one watch, especially for fans of pulp adventure, for the reasonably enjoyable first hour and the comically pitiful second half? Sure... I
guess.
Grade:
C+