King Kong Lives

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG) | Release Date: December 19, 1986

CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION

32	METASCORE Generally unfavorable reviews based on 9 Critic Reviews

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

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Critic Reviews

Critic score Publication By date

Dave Kehr

An amiable adventure illuminated at odd moments by some genuine inventiveness. [21 Dec 1986, p.12C]

Patrick Goldstein

The film makers haven't been able to improve on the original story. It's still Kong vs. Civilization, with a lot of high-firepower action and wackily implausible plot twists thrown in to keep the Big Guy busy. [22 Dec 1986, p.10]

Janet Maslin

King Kong Lives, which was directed by John Guillerman, has a dull cast and a plot that's even duller, but the ape himself is in good form. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Director John Guillermin loses all control of the pic. Read full review

Salem Alaton

Director Guillermin has got a film that's alternately cloying and crude, sometimes needlessly violent (Kong still kills in self- defence, but now he breaks human victims in half). It's even less suitable for kids than for adults. [24 Dec 1986, p.D5]

Roger Ebert

The problem with everyone in King Kong Lives is that they're in a boring movie, and they know they're in a boring movie, and they just can't stir themselves to make an effort. Read full review

Bill Cosford

Much of King Kong Lives in fact seems designed by and for invertebrates. It is well known that if you leave a monkey in a room with a typewriter for long enough, the monkey will write an intelligible story. With screenwriters, on the other hand, there's no guarantee. [22 Dec 1986, p.C5]

TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)

In all fairness, there is a lot of camp value here. Fans of truly bad cinema couldn't ask for a sillier big-budget production--envisioned with the utmost seriousness. Read full review

Nathan Rabin

King Kong Lives is a terrible film, alternately boring and fascinatingly misguided. But it’s ragingly inessential more than anything else. Read full review