Jack the Giant Slayer is the story of a legendary war between humans and a race of deadly giants from up in the sky, that has accidentally been reignited by a young farmer named Jack (Nicholas Hoult). As in the fairytale, a beanstalk connects earth and the land of the giants, only this time, there are an army of giants instead of just one, and they want to claim earth for themselves and have brought the fight to King Brahmwell (Ian McShane) and his military guardian Elmont (Ewan McGregor). Jack becomes apart of the fight through love for adventure, and new-found love for the Princess (Eleanor Tomlinson). Can Jack defeat those he believed only existed in legend?
Director Bryan Singer gives us his adaptation of the Jack and the Beanstalk tale, trying to match the efforts of those that have come before him; Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and the Huntsman etc. If you went only on box office figures you would think that this film is only living in the shadow of the fore-mentioned smash-hits, however, I feel that Jack the Giant Slayer is with out a doubt one of the better fairytale films of recent times. Not only is the film extremely fun, not trying too hard to be over sophisticated and play to the adults in the audience, but it also delivers a villain much different to that of the fairytale. There is no blubbering idiot stumbling around due to the sheer size of it, instead, the giant warriors are lead by the wonderful Bill Nighy, with the story also giving the giants a purpose and an interesting back-story.
Although the dialogue is very, very dull, and the 3D quite pointless, the general effects used are phenomenal and do a great job at covering up the frailties of the script. The story itself is also well put together, just as any Bryan Singer film (The Usual Suspects (1995) and X-Men (2000&2003)), with fun side-sequences cleverly complementing the overall storyline.
Jack the Giant Slayer is what it is, a fairytale. The film is essentially a fun cast having fun, and with the huge amount of action involved, any adult wanting to take their children won't be too bored. Oh, and if at any moment you manage to see Ewan McGregor not looking immaculate, please let me know. No amount of getting beat-up or soaking wet manges to stop him looking top-notch.
J.Henderson.
6.5/10
Might see it this week, didn't realise it was Bryan Singer so it can't be THAT bad :) great review!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it! I can't imagine you'd be bored at any moment during it. It's just that sometimes you're sat there thinking... 'wait, what did you just say?' At times the dialogue is a bit lazy, a bit easy, predictable, cliché, but what else do you expect from a fairytale film!
ReplyDeleteDespite its decent box-office performance I wasn't a fan of Alice in Wonderland at all... People just seem to get over excited at any film where Johnny Depp acts like an oddball. I liked this movie a lot better. Nice review man!
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http://amateurprophet.blogspot.co.uk/
I agree, the dialogue was lazy and the jokes too broad to strike a note. This film disappointed me though, like you, I enjoyed the cast that made up this somewhat bland fairytale. I have to agree that the CGI was fantastic - especially that kitchen scene. That was a highlight for me! Nice review :)
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