Kongo

Directed by William J. Cowen, Kongo follows Walter Huston’s Flint as he plots his revenge against the man (C. Henry Gordon’s Gregg) responsible for his paralysis. It’s promising subject matter that is, for the most part, employed to decidedly underwhelming effect by Cowen, as the filmmaker, armed with Leon Gordon’s screenplay, delivers a progressively lackluster endeavor that slowly-but-surely squanders its appealing setup – with the picture’s arms-length atmosphere perpetuated by a meandering, repetitive midsection and general emphasis on far-from-enthralling episodes and digressions. There’s little doubt, as well, that the picture’s failure is due in no small part to Huston’s grating and wildly over-the-top turn as the unlikeable central character, and while the inclusion of a third-act twist does temporarily buoy one’s waning interest, Kongo has, by that point, confirmed its place as a thoroughly disappointing misfire that feels a whole lot longer than its 86 minutes.

*1/2 out of ****