Released in 1995, Congo was a movie that I was very excited for as a teenager. With Jurassic Park being such a huge hit, many felt that Congo, another Michael Crichton novel, would be just as big. I remember a great deal of the marketing being based around this being from the creator of Jurassic Park, and the trailers and media hype certainly worked on me.
How to Download Congo
Congo was released on June 9, 1995. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
Congo Movie Review: A Nostalgic, Cheesy Adventure
Let me start by saying that Congo is certainly NO Jurassic Park, but at the time, I liked the movie, and even now, I think that this is a movie that has a real cheesy charm about it. I picked up the 4K release of Congo that came out this year, and I had a blast with it. Never in a million years would I say that this is one of the great adventure movies of the 90s, but I have always had a fun time when I have watched this over the years.
The Premise: Talking Gorillas, Diamonds, and Danger
The movie has a pretty cool premise. We have this guy called Peter who works with a super smart gorilla called Amy, whom he has taught sign language. With a special glove that looks like a Nintendo Power Glove, Amy can turn her sign language into speech. This is unintentionally hilarious, and there is a kind of weirdness about the relationship that Amy and Peter have.
Amy has been drawing these strange images, and Peter thinks that she wants to return to the jungle and be with other Gorillas. The other side of this is that there is this tech/telecommunications company that is looking for these rare diamonds in the jungle, and their expedition goes wrong when these savage grey gorillas kill everyone! The head of this company asks Laura Linney’s Karen Ross to go and investigate to make sure that his son and the diamonds are safe. The overacting from Laura Linney during the scene where they are watching the attack from the gorillas always makes me laugh.
Journey into the Jungle: The Cast Assembles
Now, how do Peter and Karen end up on the same plane going to the same part of the jungle? Well, we have Tim Curry’s awesome, Mr. Homolka, who is posing as a big and rich philanthropist, and he says he wants to help Amy get back to her home. Karen and her team, which includes Earnie Hudson’s mercenary, Captain Monroe Kelly, join up with Peter, and they make for the mining site.
Deadly Grey Gorillas and Lost Cities
Turns out that this mine is home to these savage and dangerous gorillas, which were bred to protect the mine and its diamonds, but they overthrew their leaders. We now have a fight for survival as we need to escape from the gorillas. In the midst of all this, we have Amy, who the grey gorillas are freaked out by as she can talk.
The Charm and Cheesiness of Congo
Look, Congo is a fun and dumb time. The movie has some hilarious moments with “STOP EATING MY SESEME CAKE” being right there at the top for me. At the time, I remember being very impressed with the gorilla costumes as well as the animatronic stuff for Amy, but man has some of this has aged pretty badly. To be fair, the 4K release makes the jungle and the lost city look spectacular, but it also makes the deadly grey gorillas look pretty comical, as you can see them so much more clearly.
A Glimpse into Congo: The Video Game
Before I bring this Congo review to a close, I want to talk about Congo: The Movie: The Lost City of Zinj. This is a Congo video game for the Sega Saturn that was released in 1996, and it was published by Sega themselves, was an exclusive for the Sega Saturn, and was even featured on the box of the console! Sega thought that Congo was going to be a monster hit like Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park was, but boy, were they wrong. Congo, the video game, was a critically panned first-person shooter, but I have always felt that it was nowhere near as bad as people make out. It is one of the more interesting exclusives for the Sega Saturn, being that it was based on a movie.
Final Thoughts on Congo
I can see why, for some, Congo is dumb, looks dated, and is not a good movie, and I would not argue with anyone who says that they dislike the movie. However, I think that there is a goofy charm about this movie, and it is one that I do enjoy watching. Granted, I tend to laugh at stuff that is probably not intended to be funny, but no matter the reason, I have a good time when watching this. One thing before we go, I just wanted to mention that the 4K release has an epic surround sound track that makes watching the movie more fun.
