I remember seeing the original Mighty Joe Young (1949) on TV when I was a child. Since the only other gorilla movie I had seen was the original King Kong, I was amazed by the superior special effects (courtesy of Ray Harryhausen) and entertained by the humorous story, which was more light-hearted than King Kong. The relationship between the girl and the gorilla was true friendship, rather than the typical girl-meets-monster routine. So when I heard that the movie was to be remade I was delighted. That delight remained until I actually saw the movie.
Mighty Joe Young concerns a young woman, Jill Young (Charlize Theron) living in Africa whose best friend is a gigantic gorilla, the eponymous Joe. They have spent all their time together since both of their mothers (human and ape) were orphaned by poachers years earlier. Jill's attempts to keep Joe's identity a secret (and therefore hidden from poachers) are spoiled when an explorer Gregg O'Hara (Bill Paxton) encounters Joe. News of Joe's discovery attracts poachers, and Jill decides to move him to a wildlife park near Los Angeles where O'Hara works. Of course, life in the park does not go as planned, particularly when the poachers who killed Jill's mother show up.
The good news is that special effects are very good indeed. Rick Baker is no stranger to ape movies, having worked his special effects magic for King Kong (the 1976 remake), Greystone:The Legend of Tarzan (1984), and Gorillas in the Mist (1988), and he won an Oscar for his work on American Werewolf in London (1981). The gorilla is stunningly realistic, and the mobility afforded by computer graphics trickery makes Mighty Joe the most realistic movie gorilla yet. I hope the makers of Congo have watched MJY and repented for the second-rate monkey suits they inflicted on audiences (I guess even Stan Winston has off days).
Unfortunately, Mighty Joe Young shares one characteristic with Congo; an unbelievable cheesy script. The original MJY was a retelling of King Kong, and many of the same crew worked on both films (including the writers). In the interim, many movies have been inspired by (or plain ripped-off) Kong - in the last few years, Jurassic Park:The Lost World and Godzilla both 'paid homage to' (to put it politely) King Kong. This remake has nothing new to add to the genre.
In fact, it has all the look of a movie designed by committee (and not a terribly smart committe, either)- charming but bland leading man (Paxton) and nubile leading lady. In fact, Theron spends the whole movie modelling one figure-hugging outfit after another. Since Jill Young was raised in a remote Central African village, why is she so at ease in Los Angeles? Or why does she have an American accent? The film is quite uneven in tone - though intended as a kid's movie, there are certain scenes which are not appropriate for children, particularly the finale.
What a pity, since it started so well. The opening scenes, involving the poachers, and the death of Jill's mother, is well done, and recalls the poignant scene in Bambi, when the little deer discovers he will be all alone in the world. Unfortunately, Mighty Joe Young goes rapidly downhill from there, and it is hard to believe that such a manipulative, bland movie could be made by the Walt Disney company. The producers should be required to watch The Jungle Book to remind them of what it means to work for Disney.
Directed by Ron Underwood.
| ****** Excellent - An outstanding
movie ***** V. Good - Very enjoyable or engrossing **** Good - Entertaining *** Mediocre - Nothing special ** Poor - A waste of time * Terrible - Complete rubbish |
*** |
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