Review of Congo (1972) by Alex R — 09 Apr 2011

Congo is very much a guilty pleasure. I mean it is. I love this film and found it quite entertaining. What I liked about the film was that it had the feel of a classic adventure story, something we rarely see nowadays.

The film is at times silly, but it's nothing to be too concerned about. The story is still exciting and interesting. I find the adventure story set in jungles are very entertaining and some of the best ideas for an action adventure film.

Though Congo offers the essence of the jungle adventure story, this is a disappointing adaptation from Michael Cricton's original work. Though I enjoyed the film, I found the book to be better of course.

They kept the bare ideas and reinvented the story. Which offers an interesting, and entertaining film that does have a B movie feel to it. Spielberg Collaborator Frank Marshall directs this version of Congo with a good eye for what makes a good jungle adventure action film.

But considering the book is terrific, this is still disappointing. There is lots of room for improvement. But for what it is, Congo is an entertaining film of a long lost genre of film. There are more good things to enjoy than bad.

Congo can most definitely be seen as one of my guilty pleasures. Though flawed, and a tad disappointing, Congo still is an entertaining film.