Mighty Joe Young . The Boston Phoenix . 12-27-98

Mighty Joe Young

DIRECTED BY: Ron Underwood

REVIEWED: 12-27-98

The 1949 version of Mighty Joe Young was itself a knockoff of King Kong. This new Disney version doesn't tamper with the formula so much as it tapers the rough edges in an effort to make the chest-pounding adventure more family-friendly.

The film begins with a Gorillas in the Mist-type prologue before jumping forward 12 years to find Bill Paxton leading a safari expedition to capture the legendary giant (two tons) gorilla. Paxton wants to remove the majestic beast from the threat of poachers and set him up on a posh nature reserve in California. Complicating matters is Charlize Theron's beautiful jungle girl, Joe's soul mate from birth and the only human who can communicate with him. The plot is spurred on by the nefarious actions of a poacher with an Ahab complex and a battery of money-hungry scientists who want to exploit Joe. Naturally all this puts a burr under the towering simian's skin, causing him to break free and go ape in LA's concrete jungle.

The FX and animatronics that conjure Joe are fantastically seamless, but this remake lacks the rugged camp of the original. Paxton swaggers through the film as a scene-stealing swashbuckler; Theron is left to pose in spaghetti-string tops, hang at the center of a man-beast love triangle, and speak insipid baby talk to the big gorilla.

--Tom Meek

Capsule Reviews
Mighty Joe Young

Other Films by Ron Underwood
Tremors

Film Vault Suggested Links
Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie
Hercules
Small Soldiers

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