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"Mighty Joe Young" is your typical cutesy animal movie -
except for the fact that the cutesy animal in question happens
to be a huge, abnormally large, ferocious looking gorilla.
Still, that doesn't really mask the format - it remains a
dopey animal flick. (Although I'm an animal lover, I just
couldn't warm to "Mighty Joe Young" - the ape or the movie.)
In "Mighty Joe Young", a gigantic ape named Joe is introduced
to Los Angeles, when his owner, Jill Young (Charlize Theron)
and Gregg O'Hara, (Bill Paxton) a well-meaning zoologist,
have brought him to live on a wildlife preserve. Previously,
Jill and Joe had lived on top of a secluded mountain in Africa,
where they'd had few visitors. Jill only agreed to leave Africa
in order to protect Joe from their big, bad enemies - poachers.
As the movie progresses, Joe is eventually running wild in
Los Angeles.
"Mighty Joe Young" is too unbelievable, too silly, and way
too predictable. The premise of a gigantic ape running loose
in New York City was too far-fetched. And, I could give you
a list long enough to fill this entire web site of things
that would be done differently - if such an incident did occur.
Young children - ten and under - might enjoy this movie,
but its premise, plot, and even its special effects are much
to weak to interest anyone else. (Joe didn't even look remotely
real to me. I think they should have filmed a real gorilla,
and employed camera tricks to make him appear larger than
life.)
One more thing: "Mighty Joe Young" stomping around, destroying
vehicles and property, and causing utter chaos and confusion
was entirely too reminiscent of "Godzilla", for my taste.
Rating : PG (for some menacing action violence and mild language)
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