King Kong
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: December 17, 1976 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
5
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
TimeRichard Schickel
The special effects are marvelous, the good-humored script is comic-bookish without being excessively campy, and there are two excellent performances. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
I’m still deeply fond of De Laurentiis’ King Kong now, no doubt in part because we’ll never see its likes again. Whatever the failings of its ape effects, they have a tangible quality that even Jackson’s great CGI work couldn’t fake. Read full review
80
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
Faithful in substantial degree not only to the letter but also the spirit of the 1933 classic for RKO, this $22 million-plus version neatly balances superb special effects with solid dramatic credibility. Read full review
80
The New YorkerPauline Kael
The movie is a romantic adventure fantasy--colossal, silly, touching, a marvelous Classics Comics movie (and for the whole family).
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
De Laurentiis' Kong may not be a grand, glorious modernization of a classic tale, but it's two-plus hours of big-scale, occasionally-foolish entertainment. Read full review
60
EmpireKim Newman
The lamest of the three versions but the performances are bearable. Read full review
60
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
The results of this technological bonanza are pretty mixed. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderDave Kehr
Reducing one of the most compelling cultural icons of the century to a comic book character, this $22 million project makes a passable kiddie show, and not much else. Read full review
50
The New York TimesVincent Canby
It's a series of big, foolish but entertaining spectacle scenes. Read full review
50
NewsweekJack Kroll
The updated King Kong doesn't really believe in itself; it snickers, straightens its face, roars and tramples, snickers again. Behind the bigness lurks a conventionality of spirit.It does have a certain thunderous fun from time to time, but that's not the stuff that dreams are made on. [20 Dec 1976, p.102]
25
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Without a doubt, De Laurentiis' remake of Cooper and Schoedsack's classic is the biggest con job ever pulled on the unsuspecting American public. Read full review
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