The Mighty

The Mighty is a 1998 American coming of age buddy comedy-drama film directed by Peter Chelsom and written by Charles Leavitt. Based on the book Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, the film stars Sharon Stone, Gena Rowlands, Gillian Anderson, Harry Dean Stanton, Kieran Culkin, James Gandolfini and Elden Henson.

The film received positive reviews from critics and Stone was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.

Plot
Kevin "Freak" Dillon is a 12-year-old boy suffering from Morquio syndrome and living with his mother Gwen "Fair Gwen" Dillon. He is extremely intelligent and is obsessed with flights of fancy, but due to his disability, he walks with leg braces and crutches. Meanwhile, Maxwell "Max" Kane is a 14-year-old beastly yet good-natured boy with learning challenges and living with his maternal grandparents Susan "Gram" and Elton "Grim" Pinneman. He has flunked the seventh grade twice and is tormented by Tony "Blade" Fowler, a teenage delinquent who is the leader of a local bully gang named the "Doghouse Boys". When Kevin is assigned as Max's reading tutor, they form a bond of friendship over the similar circumstances they share, such as both being outcasts in their school and their fathers abandoning them.

Freak and Max go to a local festival to watch a firework show where they get attacked by Blade and his gang. The two then escape into a nearby lake with Freak riding on Max's shoulders. Max subsequently starts carrying Freak around on his shoulders during their various adventures, describing it as Freak acting as Max's brain while Max acts as Freak's feet. This allows Freak to take part in activities such as school athletics that were previously restricted to him, earning Freak acceptance amongst his peers for the first time. During a visit to a museum, Freak uses Sir Galahad's sword to knight them as "Freak the Mighty."

Freak later witnesses the "Doghouse Boys" putting someone's purse in a sewer. The two retrieve the purse but are once again confronted by Blade and his gang. They attempt to attack Freak, but Max stops them by picking up a manhole cover and throwing it at the gang, forcing them to flee in panic. Max and Freak find that the purse belongs to a woman named Loretta Lee. They return the purse to Loretta who is married to Iggy Lee, a former gang leader. The couple are old friends of Max's father Kenny "Killer" Kane, who is currently in prison for the strangulation murder of Max's mother when Max was four years old, which Max witnessed.

On Christmas Eve, Max is kidnapped by Killer Kane who has been released on parole and is taken to Iggy and Loretta's apartment, where he is tied up. Loretta attempts to help Max escape but Killer attempts to strangle her. Max's seeing the attack prompts a repressed memory of Killer Kane killing his mother; he breaks free of his bonds and attacks his own father.

Freak tracks Max and Killer Kane to Iggy and Loretta's apartment and breaks in, armed with a squirt gun he claims is loaded with sulfuric acid which he got for Christmas, which he sprays in Killer Kane's eyes. Just before an angered Killer Kane regains himself and attempts to hurt Freak, Max tackles him through the wall where the police are waiting; Killer Kane is then returned to prison for life without the possibility of parole while Freak and Max run home to have Christmas dinner together along with Gwen, Grim and Gram. While exchanging Christmas gifts, Freak gives Max a blank book and tells him to write in it. That night, Freak dies in his sleep due to heart problems in which the next morning Max hears the news from Gram and gives chase to the ambulance on foot. Max recalls the biogenic intervention unit of a research center Freak had mentioned earlier and rushes there, only to discover that the lab in question is nothing other than a commercial laundromat. Heartbroken, Max breaks down in grief among the laundry workers.

The following weeks, Max continues attending school but spends his spare time locked in the basement, even missing Freak's funeral and seeing Gwen moving away. He later runs into Loretta at a bus stop, who advises him that "doing nothing's a drag, kid". He takes this advice to heart and even works up the courage to answer a question from his teacher during a lecture. Inspired by their bond, Max remembers Freak and all the adventures they had so he decides to write it all in the empty book Freak had given him for Christmas. Max gets writer's block on the last page and puts an illustration of King Arthur's grave which reads "Here Lies King Arthur, Once and Future King", to symbolize his belief that he will see Freak again. Max then takes Freak's ornithopter and winds it up, making it fly. As the ornithopter flies off, a narration by Max is heard:

And by the time we get here, which I guess should be the end, you're gonna know the story of Freak the Mighty, who slayed dragons, saved maidens and walked high above the world.

Reception
The Mighty received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 75% rating, based on 40 reviews, with an average of 6.80/10. The site’s critics consensus states: "Spirited and sweet with an emphasis on the healing power of friendship, The Mighty is a modest charmer that comes by its whimsy honestly."

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "What I liked most about the movie is the way it shows that imagination can be a weapon in life."

Accolades
Sharon Stone was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture. At the 20th Young Artist Awards, the film was nominated for Best Performance in a Feature Film for Kieran Culkin, and Best Family Feature - Drama.

The song "Freak the Mighty" by Sting was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song - Motion Picture. It won Best Original Song at the Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.