Mighty Joe Young (1998)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Ron Underwood

Writers (WGA):

Merian C. Cooper (story)
Ruth Rose (earlier screenplay)

Release Date:

25 December 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Thriller

Tagline:

Survival is an instinct.

Plot:

After Mighty Joe Young is brought to America for safety reasons, he escapes and rampages through Hollywood, spurred by tormentors out for revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Gorilla | Poacher | California | Hunter | Rampage

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Bill Paxton	...	Professor Gregory "Gregg" O'Hara
Charlize Theron	...	Jill Young
Rade Serbedzija	...	Andrei Strasser
Regina King	...	Cecily Banks
Peter Firth	...	Garth
Naveen Andrews	...	Pindi
David Paymer	...	Harry Ruben
Robert Wisdom	...	Kweli
Christian Clemenson	...	Jack
Geoffrey Blake	...	Vern
Lawrence Pressman	...	Dr. Elliot Baker
Linda Purl	...	Dr. Ruth Young
Mika Boorem	...	Young Jill Young
Cory Buck	...	Jason
Liz Georges	...	Jason's Mother

Also Known As:

Mighty Joe (UK)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some menacing action violence and mild language.

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Swahili

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Peru:PT | Finland:K-10 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Portugal:M/6 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Hawaii, USA

Company:

RKO Pictures

Trivia:

Bill Paxton's character name is a combination of the Ben Johnson and Robert Armstrong characters from the original version.

Quotes:

Greg O'Hara: [Joe is holding him in the air by his leg] You think you could you get him to put me down?
Jill Young: Joe, drop him.
[Joe drops him roughly and Greg passes out]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Scorcher (2002/I)

Soundtrack:

Windsong

Superb special effects

I was anxious to see this movie as I had seen the original in 1949 and I was not disappointed. This is one of those rare instances that a remake was okay. This originally was an RKO Radio Picture and the new updated RKO Pictures logo at the beginning was a great tribute. Also it was very fitting to have Terry Moore, the original star, and Ray Harryhausen, the man who made the special effects in the first one, to have a cameo. A lot of critics did not like this movie but my 3 grandchildren did. Why not have movie critics the same age as the targeted audience, such as having kid critics and women critics and senior citizen critics to give a real reaction of what they like and don't like.