CONGO. 1995

Based on the Michael Crichton novel of the same name, Congo is the story of a modern quest for King Solomon's Mines as described by by H. Rider Haggard in his classic novel. Crichton's book is overtly an homage to Haggard & the persistent reference points to the Victorian adventure novel King Solomon's Mines are preserved throughout this entertaining movie.

A female gorilla that knows sign-language a la Koko has been additionally equipped with a backpack computer that translates sign language into a sweet girlish voice, which is not very credible but it permits the gorilla to be given vocal personality in a science fiction context instead of in the context of a Hannah Barbara cartoon.

A communications expert (Laura Linney) joins an expedition of a scientist (Dylan Walsh) returning his beloved tame gorilla to its home, while a fortune hunter (Tim Curry) seeks the Lost City of Zinj.

They discover that an evil subspecies of subterranean meat-eating killer gorillas still guard the ancient ruins & treasure. Of course all the actors are upstaged by gorilla FX & costumes. When the talking gorilla expresses herself with maximum indignation, telling her flesh-eating cousins they are, "Bad gorillas!" no other scene is ever going to match that.

If they hadn't killed Indiana Jones impersonating Bruce "Evil Dead" Campbell early in the story they might've had at least the one actor as good as a fake ape.

See also the Richard Chamberlain vehicles:
King Solomon's Mines & Allan Quatrermain & the Lost City of Gold
plus reviews of other versions of
King Solomon's Mines