Quickie Follow-Up to one of the Best Movies Ever Made. After a rather Downbeat and Sombre Beginning, the Movie Loads on the Charm once back on Skull Island and it's all Played for Chuckles and Showcases Little Kong (named "KIKO" but it is never used on screen) as He Befriends His new Playmates and Showcases His Dad's Fighting ability as He Protects and Romps with the Crew.As a Stand Alone Feature the Movie is quite Affable and even Highly Entertaining (on the Island) and can be Forgiven for not even Attempting to Match the Grandiosity of its Heritage. Everything is done in "Miniature". The Story, the SFX, the Score, and the Willis O' Brien Stop Motion Effects are all Less Attentive.Overall, a Strangely Insincere Imitation, as the Creative Team all but Surrendered to the Demands of the Studio and Produced a very Cheap and Quickly Made Sequel that Despite all of the Half-Heartedness still Manages to be Worth a Watch despite Forever being in the Gigantic Footsteps of one of the Greatest Films of All Time. The Whole Team made such a Wonderful Movie the First Time They can be Forgiven, because making "King Kong" (1933) must have left Them, like Stunned Audiences (even to this day) all but Exhausted.Note…Marian C. Cooper and O'Brien made amends and a worthy continuation of Type in 1949, with the excellent "Mighty Joe Young".

PLOT - Several months after he disastrously brought Kong to Manhattan, former adventure filmmaker Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) hides out from his debtors in a boarding house. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against him, and he learns that he has been indicted by a grand jury for the destruction caused by Kong. When Capt. Englehorn (Frank Reicher) suggests that they immediately set sail for the South Pacific to become merchants, Denham jumps at the opportunity. Along the way, they meet with Helstrom (John Marston) the skipper who gave Denham the map to the island and Helene (Helen Mack) who will be Denham's love interest. They return to Skull Island, were Denham and Helene find "Little Kong," a 12- foot-tall white gorilla who Denham assumes is Kong's son. Feeling sorry for the events that happened to the predecessor, Denham takes Little under his wing, while still being wary of the creature. They encounter several creatures until the finale where they must survive the fate of the island.REVIEW - This is a good movie, using the same talented crafts from the original. The only thing different about it is that it's to me the fastest production I've ever seen, being released the exact same year as the original, that is unbelievable for a sequel. Though it is entertaining and interesting, it could have been better. It feels very rushed and I wish they could have taken their time on it. It's shorter than the first movie, and at times drags.CHARACTERS - The Characters are once again fantastic and we see more development in them, especially Denham and the pity he feels of what happened to Kong. Helstrom is a great, but cowardly villain. The scene in the bar with him Denham and Englehorn is very well acted and written. VFX - The animation and effects are once again fantastic, seeing creatures like the Styracosaurs which was cut from the first film. Although some creatures though cool looking, don't really make much sense, like the Cave Bear and Dragons. Really? You couldn't have picked more dinosaurs from the fossil record? Kiko (Little Kong) is more cute and funny than he is terrifying like his predecessor. His character is I hate to say like a mute Jar Jar Binks, clumsy and silly. The sound is great once again, and the music is okay, there is allot of recycled music from the first.OVERALL - It's a good movie and a good sequel, but just not on par or as memorable as the first. So let's give it the benefit of the doubt.

This is a hastily produced, low budget sequel to the mammoth box office smash, King Kong. It is a legitimate sequel with some of the original cast returning and many of the same production personnel.The film starts almost after King Kong's death with Denham (Robert Armstrong) being pursued by creditors and sued by various people because of the chaos and destruction caused by King Kong in New York. Feeling guilt as to how he treated Kong, he quickly boards a ship to Asia until the promise of hidden treasure lures him back to Skull Island.There he encounters the son of Kong who is stuck in quicksand and Denham helps him out for which Kong is grateful. Also in the island are various pre historic creatures such as dinosaurs and a cave bear who gets involved in a fight with Kong.The film's short running time, almost a hour belies the fact that it has a lot of padding. We have the weasel villain, Helstrom, a drunk loser who cannot be trusted. Hilda, the damsel who hides out in the ship to Skull island. The staunch captain of the ship from King Kong and various mutinous crewmen.Son of Kong is almost a comic character in this film. Junior is lesser in size, frequently simpering in pain, pulls funny faces at the camera and badly animated. It seems the producers realised that King Kong was wrongly misconstrued as the villain in the original when it was forcibly kidnapped out of its natural environment.There are some nice fight grapple scenes featuring Kong, in fact Vince McMahon stole some of the moves for his WWE wrestlers by the look of it. However away from Kong the film is dull because it was quickly made as a cash in.

Which isn't to say it's better (or as good as) the original KONG, which is a film that will never be equaled (as De Laurentis and Peter Jackson spent millions proving). But as sequels go this one is just right. When modern film makers produce a sequel to a hit movie they essentially remake it only bigger. If the original had ten explosion the sequel has a hundred, if the original had one big angry monster the sequel has five. In other words they take a good idea and turn it into something tedious and overblown. The producers of SON OF KONG shrewdly realized that they could never top the original so they gave us a pleasant little followup instead. As another reviewer aptly noted, SON is a light dessert after a steak dinner, which is just what you want. The effects and action are good, the humor is excellent, and I for one prefer Helen Mack's spunky gal to Fay Wray's insipid heroine. So sue me.