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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.

I'm referring to Guy Williams, not the movie. The movie itself, though not up to Harryhausen's SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD, is nonetheless a lot of fun and far more entertaining that either GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD or the awful SINBAD AND THE EYE OF THE TIGER. Williams is excellent in the title role, physically perfect and far more dashing than any other actor I can think of in the part. And those who carp about the cheap special effects are (as usual) totally missing the point. Aside from the absurdity of using CGI as your yardstick (does anyone actually think the effects in AVATAR or LORD OF THE RINGS look real? Come on...) the manifestly theatrical menaces in CAPTAIN SINDBAD are part of the fun. The villain's pulsing disembodied heart, like a big satin pillow, is a clear tip-off: none of this is MEANT to be real! It's like an elaborate Christmas pantomime. And that giant mechanical hand is terrific. A cross between this movie and SEVENTH VOYAGE would have been the perfect Sinbad movie. Or Sindbad. Take your pick.

You have to be a die hard monster movie fan to enjoy this movie, but I'm guessing if you are you'll like it a lot. I certainly did. That's not to imply that GODZILLA & OTHER MOVIE MONSTERS is particularly well done. It's crude and the footage from myriad monster movies is grainy, scratchy, and faded, but the sheer volume material, going all the way back to beginning of movies, is a pleasure in itself. Some of the clips here I'd never seen before, and I've spent a lifetime in front of the tube enjoying these kinds of films. Not a lot of scholarly research is evident, but again so what. And to correct what another reviewer wrote, this movie does not claim that BEGINNING OF THE END was the first giant insect movie --- although it shows clips from the giant grasshopper flick first, it goes on to cite THEM as the original monster bug movie --- and then treats us to an entertaining montage of giant scorpions, ants, spiders etc. to the tune of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee"! All in all this movie is a treat for un-discriminating B movie monster fans.