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35 out of 36 people found the following review useful: More than "Mighty", it's great!, 14 December 1999 Author: Mike Kahn (mikalobe@earthlink.net) from Chicago, Illinois, USA
This movie is a real sleeper. I heard it was pretty good from a friend. My friend really understated.Every thing about this movie is thoroughly enjoyable. The story is enthralling. The cinematography and special effects are wonderful. The acting is, well Harry Dean Stanton and Gena Rowlands do their usual great job and the two boys who play Max and the Freak (Kevin), Elden Ratliff and Kieran Culkin are impressive. Meat Loaf and Gillian Anderson are a trip to watch and Sharon Stone showed me acting that I didn't think she had in her. All in all a cast that does a great job.The sound track is really something. I thoroughly enjoyed the music. If there was a small impediment in the film, it was a story that could of played on sympathy, but I don't think it was harmful. I've seen this storyline before, but the way it was done I didn''t care.See it.
28 out of 29 people found the following review useful: Rent it. Buy it. Borrow it. SEE IT!!!!, 20 June 2004 Author: wildcat7-2 from Tucson, AZ
I heard about "The Mighty" after I saw The Battle of Shaker Heights and thought I'd find more movies with Elden Henson. I find that he has an ability to play the stupidest characters well ("Idle Hands") and the most clever ("Shaker Heights"). Anyway, I rented The Mighty because of its good rating and strong cast.It was not what I expected.. it was so much greater. I have seen more than one's share of films and trust that the Mighty will not disappoint. A gem in the rocks? Much more. I have never read "Freak the Mighty" but this movie has me out seeking a copy.Of course, Rowland's and Stanton's acting was solid. Elden Henson's and Kieran Culkan's are stunning. I believe this is one of Sharon Stone's best performances and Gillian Anderson shows her ability and range. Gandolfini was also as strong an asset as anyone else. This movie was just filled with stellar performances and moments that just make the audience get into the scene.I really wish this movie had been advertised much more. I mean, my seeing it was quite an oddity. Makes me wonder how many of these great unseen movies I'm missing. Rent it. Buy it. Borrow it. You will not regret it.
29 out of 33 people found the following review useful: Loved every minute, 13 December 1999 Author: Boyo-2
This movie was great and I'd encourage anyone to see it. Both of the young actors are fantastic, especially Eldon Henson, and the adults in the movie are pretty good, too. Gillian Anderson and Henson have a really beautiful moment at a bus stop near the end. I also cried at one point quite a lot. It really was an amazing movie and deserves some praise.
27 out of 34 people found the following review useful: Sounds cheesy, but The Mighty is anything but., 5 January 1999 Author: Ben Walsh (ben.walsh@mcr-evening-news.co.uk) from Mancheser, England
"Sometimes seems like the whole world has just seen me on America's Most Wanted." (Max Kane)So says the imposing gentle giant Max (the excellent Elden Ratliff). He is a 13-year-old with a murdered mother and murdering jailbird father (James Gandolfini), who has twice failed 8th grade and lives with disgruntled grandparents Gram and Grim (the particularly morose Harry Dean Stanton and Gena Rowlands). It's a wonder he isn't Mad Max. However, he has a saviour. A minor miracle named Kevin Dillon (Kieran Culkin). Sounds cheesy, but The Mighty is anything but.Peter Chelson, director of the inventive and original Funny Bones, has lovingly superimposed Rodman Philbrick's successful children's book Freak The Mighty to the screen. The result is as moving as any kiddies film you've seen in the last ten years.Kevin is suffering from Morquio's syndrome, a progressively degenerative disease that makes him unable to walk without leg braces. However, the boy is a considerable intellectual giant trapped inside a small, fragile body. As luck would have it he is consigned to tutor Max in remedial reading. In the words of Bogart it's the start of a "beautiful friendship".Kevin introduces the big guy to Arthurian legend. "Every word is part of a picture. Every sentence is a picture. All you do, is let your imagination connect them together. If you have an imagination that is," he says.Inspired by the knights in the book, the boys invent a fantasy world in which honour is everything. Together, Max and Kevin set out to battle their foes, both real and imagined.Do not be put off by the presence of a Culkin or the mention of King Arthur. The Mighty is sincere, without being turgidly earnest, and genuinely uplifting. Sharon Stone equips herself well as the distraught mother of Kevin, but can't quite convince us that she doesn't ooze glamour. The "bad" kids also do not quite fit, resembling the troublesome urchins in Bugsy Malone rather than vicious Cincinnati hoodlums. However, these are minor quibbles, for ultimately The Mighty is several notches above the average children's film. Ben Walsh
18 out of 20 people found the following review useful: Wow., 4 November 2005 Author: cableaddict from United States
Caught this one on late-night cable (where else) and just had it on in the background while I worked.... About ten minutes in it pretty much had my attention. About 30 minutes in, as the unique relationship between the two main characters comes into being, I was hooked.This thing fires on all pistons. Great story, great actors, intelligent humor, moments of genuine tension, and genuinely touching moments without a hint of sappiness. There's not a cliché' in site. The script is wonderful, and the director throws a few remarkable cinematic touches at us, despite this being obvious a lowish-budget flick.Did I mention that it's a wonderful, wonderful film? I'd give it a "12" if I could.
14 out of 15 people found the following review useful: A decent drama with a touching story, good cast and decent direction, 8 August 2005 Author: PersianPlaya408 from Milpitas, California
A touching story about a friendship between two middle school boys. Max(Henson) is a big kid who has a rough past, while Kevin or "freak" as they call him in the film is a boy with a physical disability that prevent him from walkin without stilt like crutches. Kieran Culkin was great in this film, very good performance early in his career. Elden Henson was not bad in a role that could have been played better, but he was decent, it was a bit of a hard role. Gandolfini was great and stole his limited number of scenes. Harry Dean Stanton was good as well, as was Gillian Anderson. The one disappointment was Sharon Stone who was very good in her scenes, but a bit wasted due to the screenplay concentrating mostly on the teenage characters. This film moves a bit slow, but is nonetheless a very heartwarming and touching picture. The direction is good, and screenplay is solid as well, acting is good for the most part. a Solid film. 8/10
15 out of 18 people found the following review useful: very well made movie about friends-beautiful storytelling, 3 March 2001 Author: JBoze313 from Evansville, Indiana
This is a great movie with great actors. I really liked the two friends, especially the tall kid (I'm too lazy to look his name up again)...anyhow...he has done some good work in some very small films (mostly), and he always gets the characters he plays just right. The movie overall is a very touching story, and it's hard not to get teared up every now and then. The cast works really well in all the roles, and all of the acting is very good. I really like the use of music in this movie, it goes a long way in making the story that much better...and it seems to lend a certain mood to the entire film. It's refreshing to see "feel- good" movies like this, without all the pointless, useless violence and/or sex scenes. It seems to be a movie made for one reason- to entertain and enlighten (to a point)...not for cash, like most movies. It might not have done a huge box office, but it's well worth whatever you spend renting it, or you might stay up late and catch it on one of the premium networks. I would definitely recommend this movie, you won't be sorry. 9/10
12 out of 13 people found the following review useful: "Mighty" under-appreciated in 1998., 2 August 2005 Author: happipuppi13 from Phx. Arizona ("Arizona Smells Funny"!- Homer Simpson)
Granted,this film was no "blockbuster" when it came out in 1998. It did good business but after it's run,it was sort of forgotten. I have never even seen it on TV (to my knowledge). Thank goodness for home video rental & libraries! I just watched it for the first time in 7 years and it was still as great as it was then. Simple plot,a very large boy with a troubled family past,meets and makes friend with a young boy who,despite walking with two hand-grip crutches seems almost fearless and able bodied. As well as very able minded,a genius he is!I wont spoil this movie by going into too much detail except to say,watching these two young actors "interact" is what makes it such a triumph in film-making. Stone is great also as the little boy's mother and one would almost not recognize Gillian Anderson outside of the X-Files,I know I didn't! Buy or rent it. Good for kids,to age 8 and up I'd say!
12 out of 14 people found the following review useful: Friendship, 22 July 2005 Author: jotix100 from New York
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Peter Chelsom's "The Mighty" is a good way to witness the bonding between two young boys whose lives come together in the most unexpected ways. These two wounded souls see in each other what they would like to be. Max would like to be as intelligent as Kevin, and Kevin would like to have Max's health.Max's father having killed his mother, is serving time in jail. He is being raised by his aging grandparents. Max has withdrawn from the world. He is doing poorly in school having repeated the seventh grade and has no social graces. Kevin is a boy suffering from a debilitating disease that has made him walk with the help of crutches. Kevin is made Max's reading tutor. It's appalling to see a grown boy like Max struggling to read a book. With Kevin's help he not only improves his reading, but form a winning team in trying to defeat the bullies that make their life impossible. Max begins carrying Kevin on his shoulders all over the city.Eventually, fate intervenes in their lives. Max's father comes out of jail and he kidnaps his own son. Kevin, is instrumental in rescuing his buddy, but at the same time, his illness gets the best of him.This is a film that is deceiving. Judging by all the big names in the cast, one doesn't expect the movie to be basically about the two boys. Elden Henson and Kieran Culkin are Max and Kevin, respectively. Both do excellent work under the inspired direction of Mr. Chelsom, who gets also good ensemble work from his cast. Gena Rowlands, Harry Dean Stanton, Sharon Stone, Gillian Anderson and James Gandolfini play second fiddle to the two young actors, who steal the movie and make it their own.This is a positive film about how to overcome obstacles in life without fear.
7 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Wonderful, 31 July 2001 Author: sofia_blink182 (sofia_blink182@hotmail.com)
I wonder why this is not a global hit!? I love this movie It`s a wonderful story about the smart but "weak" boy and the "stupid" but strong boy, and together they make the perfect team! I cry so much when Kieran dies. Something I wonder is why there is five persons name before Kieran Culkin and Elden Ratliff`s name? they have the major roles? it`s always that when teenagers or kids have the leading parts, that the parents or some adults comes first...weird. Anyway It`s a great movie so rent it and cry! Love Sofia
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