32
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 63Chicago TribuneDave KehrChicago TribuneDave KehrAn amiable adventure illuminated at odd moments by some genuine inventiveness. [21 Dec 1986, p.12C]
- 50Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe 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]
- 40The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinKing 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.
- 38The Globe and Mail (Toronto)The Globe and Mail (Toronto)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]
- 25Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe 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.
- 25Miami HeraldBill CosfordMiami HeraldBill CosfordMuch 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]
- 25TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineIn 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.
- 16The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinKing Kong Lives is a terrible film, alternately boring and fascinatingly misguided. But it’s ragingly inessential more than anything else.