Mighty Joe Young

Starring: Bill Paxton, Charlize Theron, Rade Serbedzija, Peter Firth David Paymer, Regina King, Robert Wisdom, Naveen Andrews, Linda Purl, Verne Troyer
Directed by: Ron Underwood
Rating: PG
Genre: Action, Adventure, Family
1998

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A zoologist (Bill Paxton) brings a fifteen foot tall gorilla and his caretaker (Charlize Theron) to California to protect him from poachers who are determined to kill him.

Review:

Tim:

Mighty Joe Young was one of those movies I never got around to seeing in the late 90s and it was on my list of movies I always wanted to see. It took nearly two decades after its release, but I did finally see it. I was fairly disappointed in what I saw. The movie is okay, but it's certainly not a must-see film. As a whole, it's a decent Disney family movie, but it also leaves a lot to be desired. I should clarify I still haven't seen the original movie so I'm unable to compare this remake. So, I'm going to have to focus on this one alone.

On the positive side of things, the visual effects that brought fifteen-foot Joe to life were fairly astounding for 1998. It's no surprise that this movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. That's the film's greatest strength- Joe looks so lifelike that at times you marvel how they pulled it all off. Creating a believable massive gorilla was no small feat. Some sequences- like the scene where the trucks are hunting a fleeing Joe- are truly incredible to watch. The film deserved its nomination.

The cast is pretty good, too. I'm a huge Bill Paxton fan- it's always fun to see him at work. He does a good job here, with his usual easygoing charm that he brings to his characters. I liked the pairing with Charlize Theron, who gives a fairly good early film performance. Their chemistry might not have been off-the-charts, but it was still fun seeing them together. The supporting cast is okay, but it really needed someone to stand out. Rade Serbedzija is doing his villainous thing and is probably the best supporting cast member. Still, the movie needed a stronger supporting cast and David Paymer and Regina King aren't getting it done.

The biggest issue with the film is that it never really gives us a reason to care deeply about the characters. Obviously, we're supposed to care about Joe because he's an innocent gorilla. We do get some backstory on Theron's character, so we tend to be sympathetic towards her. Even still, there wasn't enough here to really engage me with these characters. The big motivation for our antagonist is revenge, which seems kind of silly when you consider it's against a primate, especially when you consider the lengths he goes to seek it out. I don't know, it was just hard to take seriously. The film offers its big climax in an amusement park, but the whole thing felt very small scale and low stakes. It was fairly cheesy towards the end. That just left a bad taste in my mouth. If I was teetering at all, the film's conclusion would have pushed me towards lowering the overall quality of the film. The movie was just okay, but outside of the stunning visuals, it really didn't offer nearly enough.

Mighty Joe Young is certainly not a bad movie. It's a perfectly decent family film. It offers a few decent action sequences and it's fun to see Joe on screen. Unfortunately, the movie never lives up to its potential, instead telling a too generic, too forgettable story. You can do worse than this film, but it's not going to do much for you.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Jurassic Park, King Kong, Congo