Runtime: 109 entertaining minutes
Directed by: Frank Marshall
Starring: Laura Linney, Ernie Hudson, Dylan Walsh, Tim Curry, Grant Heslov
From: Paramount
Amy the Gorilla could totally beat 100 people in a fight. The heel gorillas, undoubtedly so.
While a few days from peak relevancy, I have known the Twitter post turned meme where some random jackalope asked if 100 N-words could beat one gorilla in a fight. Out of nowhere, people went ape for the post-causing it to go viral, with many responses on the platform-then breaking containment and being discussed on other sites-and even legacy media. Despite being a child of the 80’s and 90’s, last night was a first-time-viewing of Congo.
It is through cultural osmosis that I’ve known Congo as a bizarre motion picture-that was not overstated. Of course, the Michael Crichton novel hasn’t been read by me either; now, I just presumed that the success of Jurassic Park allowed for such a nutty plot to be made into a big-budget film-50 million quid was a lot three decades ago. However, Wiki tells me that Crichton wanted to make this for years with no luck-Frank Marshall eventually did the film with hardly any involvement from Crichton.
I have no idea how Michael concocted a plot involving using blue diamonds for “communications lasers,” a martini-drinking gorilla named Amy that communicates via sign language that “computers” translate to speech, volcanoes, an expedition in the Congo, a “lost city,” and the unfortunate real-life issue of political turmoil in that region of the world… nor why Tim Curry spoke with an exaggerated Romanian accent, although perhaps it was because he knew it was impossible to take the movie seriously so why not add camp value? No word on if the sesame cake was in the novel…
As flawed and cracked as the plot & execution is, a big-budget summer release flavored like a B-movie adventure featuring Laura Linney, Ernie Hudson, Joe Don Baker, Grant Heslov, Curry, Bruce Campbell, Peter Jason, a famous singer in a cameo role as a pilot, and two famous faces in uncredited roles so they won’t be named (but one of them has a prominent role in a current popular picture)… well, that’s appreciated by me. So is at least part of the production going to Africa to film & the correct portrayal of hippos as vicious MF’ers instead of cute cuddly creatures.
Furthermore, the typical quality Jerry Goldsmith score and all the practical effects on display were charming to me in 2025; shoutout to the Stan Winston Studios for bring the primates to life. As a teen in the 90’s, my opinion might not be as positive; as a middle-aged man who is apathetic towards modern blockbusters, I can be both bemused and amused by a gorilla that smokes a cigarillo in one scene.
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