La croisade des braves

Talent must run in the Culkin family because Kieran shines in "The Mighty."

As I sat through "The Mighty," I kept thought to myself how it resembled another inspirational film; "Simon Birch." This was a clear indication that I would enjoy "The Mighty."

Elden Henson who played Max Kane was a good choice to play the friend of Culkin's character, Kevin Dillon. I say this because it is based upon how much each have in common including the fact that they seemed to click well together.

I can't forget to mention the superb supporting cast that included Sharon Stone, Gena Rowlands and Harry Dean Stanton. Stone pulled off a performance that could have been done in her sleep. Rowlands and Stanton provided support at just the right times to make this film worthwhile.

"The Mighty" immediately brought a smile to my face because it told the story of two people who were isolated until one day they were brought together, which made a perfect fit.

"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

First of all...I really liked it. If there is one film I would highly recommend this year, this is it. Sharon Stone is a mother of a son with a physically disabling and potentially fatal disease. The son doesn't let this disease slow him down and he goes off facing the challenges of everyday life that lay ahead of him. Unfortunately, not everyone understands his disease or shows sensitivity to his physical condition. He is abused by classmates and has no friends until he meets the kid next door. The neighbor kid has a learning disability and through a variety of situations, the two become friends. Together they go out and face the world as if they were knights in King Arthur's court. The film has some great messages of friendship and understanding. While the film shows the difficulties of living with a disability it shows strength and courage in dealing with it. A few scenes were extremely emotional in nature and only the most hardened-heart would not be moved or touched by them. To this end, the Director should be commended. One review (even I read other reviews) describe this film as being "emotionally-manipulative", but I say...who cares? Any time a Driector is successful at causing an emotional response from the audience...I consider that a positive sell-point of the film. Bottom line....while I haven't said much about the actual content of the film...I will leave that for you to experience on your own....go see it...you will be glad you did....this film can touch and inspire you in a world that sometimes doesn't.

This film is great! Kieran Culkin and Elden Ratliff shine in the leading roles. Sharon Stone, Harry Dean Stanton, Gillian Anderson and James Gandolfini provide good supporting roles that add to an enjoyable film.

One note though, there seems to be two pages on IMDB dedicated to this film, the other being the 'Freak the Mighty' page, which hasn't got a cast list. Actually 'Freak the Mighty' is the novel that 'The Mighty' is based upon! This is a bit confusing for people because both pages are about exactly the same film!

Anyway, that aside, The Mighty proves to be a heart-warming film about friendship and life. A feel-good movie for adults and children! **** out of *****!

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