in the finale of disney 's " mighty joe young , " a 15-foot tall , 2000-pound gorilla holds a frightened young boy in its clutches as it topples from a crippled ferris wheel and plummets to the ground .
upon impact , rugged everyman and perennial do - gooder bill paxton rushes in , containing the emotional crowd with an earnest " move along now folks , there 's nothing to see here .
"
ok , so those are n't exactly the words he uses , but it 's probably one of the few clich ?
s not uttered in this unnecessary remake of an unnecessary remake of that mother of all monster movies , " king kong .
"
1949 's " mighty joe young " was an update of that classic creature feature , also based on merian c . cooper 's original story ( 16 years after " ' kong
" it appeared the world was ready for a new take on the beauty and the beast fable ) .
now some 49 years later , at least according to disney 's way of thinking , the world is ready for one more .
not so .
the only --
and i mean only -- reason to see the 1998 version is for the special effects .
and these , unfortunately , run hot and cold .
today 's joe young is designed and produced by special - effects whiz rick baker , who has been wowing audiences with his state - of - the - art make - up effects since 1971 's " schlock " ( which , incidentally , featured a baker - enhanced " gorilla " ) .
joe is a combination of animatronic effects , computer graphics , and that old standard , a man in a monkey suit .
while there are occasional flashes of brilliance -- baker 's had a lot of practice with simian effects , after all , including " gorillas in the mist , " " greystoke : the legend of tarzan , lord of the apes , " and the 1976 remake of " king
kong
" --there 's also some surprising cheesiness .
one of the film 's most embarrassing moments is when paxton 's band of african trackers first encounter and pursue the larger - than - life primate ( in a scene unashamedly ripped off from " the lost world : jurassic park " ) .
paxton jubilantly extols the beast 's majestic gait at the same exact moment as joe , and the computer effects driving him , stutter to a halt .
also , if the film 's producers had wanted us to focus our attentions on the titular ape they should n't have paraded female lead charlize theron ( " trial & error " ) around in a seemingly - endless wardrobe of spaghetti - strapped tops .
even joe seems distracted at times .
the film piles on the clich ?
s
like there 's no tomorrow , including the predictable plot
( anthro - zoologists ship gigantic gorilla to l .
a .
where urban havoc is inevitably wrought ) , predictable villain ( a lithuanian
i think i overheard someplace ) , predictable love story ( bill and charlize -- surprise ! ) , and predictable denouement ( " ' twas box - office receipts that killed the beast " ) .
kids raised on " men in black " ( non - monkey effects also by baker ) are going to find ron ( " tremors " )
underwood 's outing a little lame by comparison .
while certainly better than 1978 's " king kong lives " ( itself a lousy sequel to a not particularly good remake ) , " mighty joe young " proves how the mighty keep falling .
these , unfortunately , run hot and cold some surprising cheesiness unashamedly ripped off the film piles on the clich ? s like there 's no tomorrow , including the predictable plot unnecessary remake of an unnecessary remake most embarrassing moments