Having watched KING KONG Monday night, this seemed obvious for Tuesday.
The sequel, I read, was quickly knocked out in about 8 months, for about one-THIRD the budget of the original. This caused Willis O'Brien to get soured on it, and 2 major sequences planned to be cut. One of these would have involved a tribal war on the island, the other, a dinosaur stampede when the earthquake starts.
I note how "sad" most of the film is. The entire long build-up really gets to you after awhile, every character in the film seems perpetually down on their luck, some because of their own actions, others not. Helstrom is a real creep-- he gets into a fight while drunk, "accidentally" kills his drinking partner and then runs out when a fire starts. Later, he incites a ship's crew to mutiny, then gets tossed overboard with the Captain! By the time that dinosaur stuck his head out of the water and ATE him, I figured he had it coming.
The girl Helene, who Carl Denning eventually falls for, actually wound up reminding me a bit of my MOM this time around. Not much of a singing voice, puts herself into a situation despite people telling her not to, sticking with a guy despite whatever. Plus she kinda LOOKED like Mom. Made me think Denning seemed a lot LESS nuts than my Dad was.
The best part of the film-- OF COURSE-- is what most audiences would be waiting for-- THE ISLAND. The styracosaurus is COOL! Is this the only dinosaur movie that ever had one? "Little Kong" winds up being the exact opposite of his bad-tempered uber-destructive dad. Curious, friendly, even helpful (but not too bright). The fights with the giant bear and the dragon were cool. It's heart-warming, funny and exciting. The design of the "temple" is also cool, though I'd have thought there'd be a lot more "treasure" than just ONE big necklace. Either the print or the quality of effects shots seem BETTER than on the first film, which is really odd.
The ending seems completely uncalled-for. Sort of like blowing up the entire planet in that 2nd APES film. I realize now where I've seen it before-- it's very similar to the climax of the novel THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND. In that, the castaways have spent months building an escape craft, only to have it DESTROYED just before they could use it when the entire island disintegrates (I forget if a volcano was involved or not, as in the Harryhausen version). Only as they cling desperately to the last remaining fragments of the island does a rescue ship FINALLY arrive, led there by a message left on the OTHER island they visited in the book (but not in the movie). Hollywood has a long habit of swiping from various sources uncredited. I'd bet this is one of those.
I could see an earthquake causing a stampede, but NOT completely sinking an island that had been there for MILLIONS of years, which just happens to sink right when Carl Denning is there. Like I said, the whole build-is is so sad, then, following a more upbeat middle, it ends on another sad note. Sure, Carl & the others will be rich once they hock that necklace, and he & Helene look like they'll probably get married. But there was NO need to kill off ALL those critters in the process. Just feels like someone's way of saying, "We're NOT doing another sequel-- DAMMIT!"
The sequel, I read, was quickly knocked out in about 8 months, for about one-THIRD the budget of the original. This caused Willis O'Brien to get soured on it, and 2 major sequences planned to be cut. One of these would have involved a tribal war on the island, the other, a dinosaur stampede when the earthquake starts.
I note how "sad" most of the film is. The entire long build-up really gets to you after awhile, every character in the film seems perpetually down on their luck, some because of their own actions, others not. Helstrom is a real creep-- he gets into a fight while drunk, "accidentally" kills his drinking partner and then runs out when a fire starts. Later, he incites a ship's crew to mutiny, then gets tossed overboard with the Captain! By the time that dinosaur stuck his head out of the water and ATE him, I figured he had it coming.
The girl Helene, who Carl Denning eventually falls for, actually wound up reminding me a bit of my MOM this time around. Not much of a singing voice, puts herself into a situation despite people telling her not to, sticking with a guy despite whatever. Plus she kinda LOOKED like Mom. Made me think Denning seemed a lot LESS nuts than my Dad was.
The best part of the film-- OF COURSE-- is what most audiences would be waiting for-- THE ISLAND. The styracosaurus is COOL! Is this the only dinosaur movie that ever had one? "Little Kong" winds up being the exact opposite of his bad-tempered uber-destructive dad. Curious, friendly, even helpful (but not too bright). The fights with the giant bear and the dragon were cool. It's heart-warming, funny and exciting. The design of the "temple" is also cool, though I'd have thought there'd be a lot more "treasure" than just ONE big necklace. Either the print or the quality of effects shots seem BETTER than on the first film, which is really odd.
The ending seems completely uncalled-for. Sort of like blowing up the entire planet in that 2nd APES film. I realize now where I've seen it before-- it's very similar to the climax of the novel THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND. In that, the castaways have spent months building an escape craft, only to have it DESTROYED just before they could use it when the entire island disintegrates (I forget if a volcano was involved or not, as in the Harryhausen version). Only as they cling desperately to the last remaining fragments of the island does a rescue ship FINALLY arrive, led there by a message left on the OTHER island they visited in the book (but not in the movie). Hollywood has a long habit of swiping from various sources uncredited. I'd bet this is one of those.
I could see an earthquake causing a stampede, but NOT completely sinking an island that had been there for MILLIONS of years, which just happens to sink right when Carl Denning is there. Like I said, the whole build-is is so sad, then, following a more upbeat middle, it ends on another sad note. Sure, Carl & the others will be rich once they hock that necklace, and he & Helene look like they'll probably get married. But there was NO need to kill off ALL those critters in the process. Just feels like someone's way of saying, "We're NOT doing another sequel-- DAMMIT!"