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:

Simian Fiction | Animal Attack | Melodrama | Scream | Photographer

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

Colour:

Colour

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:

Cameo: [Terry Moore]she played the role of Jill in the original 1949 release.

Quotes:

Jill Young: [sees Greg coming out of the infirmary] He's walking already? Joe should have dropped him harder.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Recreating the Eighth Wonder: The Making of 'King Kong' (2006) (V)

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.