| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Laura Linney | ... | ||
| Dylan Walsh | ... | ||
| Ernie Hudson | ... | ||
| Tim Curry | ... | ||
| Grant Heslov | ... | ||
| Joe Don Baker | ... | ||
| Lola Noh | ... |
Amy
(as Lorene Noh)
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| Mary Ellen Trainor | ... | ||
| Misty Rosas | ... | ||
| Stuart Pankin | ... | ||
| Carolyn Seymour | ... | ||
| Romy Rosemont | ... |
Assistant
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| James Karen | ... |
College President /
Elliot's Boss
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Bill Pugin | ... |
William
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Lawrence T. Wrentz | ... |
Prof. Arliss Wender
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A megalomaniac C.E.O. sends his son into the dangerous African Congo on a quest for a source of diamonds large enough and pure enough to function as powerful laser communications transmitters (or is it laser weapons?). When contact is lost with his son and the team, his sometime daughter- in-law is sent after them. She is a former CIA operative and, accompanied by gee-whiz gadgetry and a few eccentric characters (including a mercenary, a researcher with a talking gorilla, and a a nutty Indiana-Jones-type looking for King Solomon's Mines), sets out to rescue her former fiancé. What they all discover is that often what we most want turns out to be the source of our downfall. Written by Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu>
OK, this movie is best watched on a rainy day or when you're pretty bored. The fake looking gorillas were obviously not very well-made, whereas the 1993 film Jurassic Park had familiarized audiences with CG dinosaurs. In fact, CGI was originally planned for the grays, but the technology had not yet been developed to the point where realistic hair could be created. While smooth skinned dinosaurs were possible, hairy apes would have looked inappropriately cartooned. Therefore, animatronics, masks and puppetry had to be utilized. So that was kind of a damper on the special effects as well as Tim Curry's bad acting. The movie could have been a lot better, but it was viewable. If you got over the gorilla puppets and Tim Curry's accent, you have a pretty decent movie. I thought the story was good. It's not Jurassic Park, but it's Michael Crichton. Congo wasn't very realistic, but neither was Jurassic Park. It was like that show "Legends of the Hidden Temple" with intelligent gorillas and science. There was action and a plot. So I could sit and watch it. I'll give it (barely) 6 stars.