Mighty Joe Young

Directed by Ron Underwood, Mighty Joe Young follows Bill Paxton’s Gregg O’Hara and Charlize Theron’s Jill Young as they attempt to protect the title creature, a 15-foot mountain gorilla, from a variety of nefarious forces (including Rade Šerbedžija’s evil poacher). Filmmaker Underwood, armed with Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner’s screenplay, delivers a briskly-paced (yet undeniably overlong) adventure that benefits from its top-notch special effects and charismatic lead performances, with, in terms of the latter, Paxton and Theron’s tremendously appealing efforts here going a long way towards smoothing over the narrative’s various stumbles and bumps. (And this is to say nothing of the portrayal of that aforementioned 15-foot gorilla, as the animal, brought to life via Rick Baker’s typically first-class work, generally possesses just as much personality and presence as his human costars.) It’s clear, then, that Mighty Joe Young‘s downfall stems from a repetitive storyline that places an ongoing (and fairly tiresome) emphasis on the abuse and mistreatment of the non-human protagonist, which, perhaps unsurprisingly, paves the way for a midsection and second half that’s rarely, if ever, as exciting and engrossing as Underwood has undoubtedly intended. The end result is a hit-and-miss Disney production that generally feels like it should be far more entertaining and engaging, with the picture, at least, concluding on an appreciatively feel-good note that ensures one walks away relatively satisfied.

**1/2 out of ****

Leave a comment