Jack the Giant Slayer - 2013 - Directed by Bryan Singer
I realize that this is a bit of a departure for someone who is a self-confessed horror fanatic, but at heart, The Horror Nerd is a true film buff, and I did see this in the theater, so why not review it?What we have here is a fairly standard "popcorn" film that turned out to be exactly what I had expected. I had been hoping for a little bit more and was ultimately let down however.
Overall, the plot is a retelling of the story of "Jack and the Beanstalk", which has been told 1,000 times, but this time on a much grander scale. We begin with Jack as a child, being told the story of the giants by his father, reading from a book left to him by his mother. At the same time, we have the same story being told to an unidentified young girl by her mother in a parallel "setup" if you will.
Years ago a bridge between the world of humans and the world of giants is created via the aforementioned beanstalk. A war ensues between the giants and the humans, and the giants are only defeated when King Erik the Great forges a crown infused with the heart of one of the giants, which allows him to control them. The giants are driven back to their realm, and the beanstalk is cut down, forever imprisoning them. They are not happy about this, needless to say.
Flash forward and Jack (Nicholas Hoult) is now a young man living on a farm, but yearning for adventure. As luck would have it, the young girl from the beginning of our story turns out to be the princess of the kingdom, who also yearns for life outside the castle walls. We are now in familiar territory, with Jack being sent to the city to sell his uncle's horse and cart, only to return with a handful of magic beans. We all know what happens from here.... Or so we think.
Everyone knows I try not to spoil any plots with my reviews, but the film trailers make it clear that the bridge between wars is rebuilt, the princess (Eleanor Tomlinson) is missing (the farmhouse she was talking shelter in having been whisked up the beanstalk), and the king sends his men (led by Ewan McGregor in a swashbuckling role), along with his trusted adviser (the great Stanley Tucci), up the beanstalk to find out what has happened to her, and to discover what's at the top of the beanstalk, as the giants have long since faded into legend.
The remainder of the film is an enjoyable action romp through a familiar childhood fairly tale. We have action, romance, humor, villainy and all of the other standard fairy tale elements. We also have some really cool CGI giants, led by a massive two-headed brute named General Entin, who has some grand plans of his own. We also find out where the famous line, "Fee, Fie, Fo, Fumm" comes from, which by the way, I waited the entire film to hear! Again, without giving too much away, the war between humans and giants is reignited, with everyone having their own agenda, and mayhem ensues!
OK, so what did I like about it? Well, I am all about escapism at the movies sometimes, and that's exactly what this is. Enjoyable movie fun. The plot takes a childhood story that we are all familiar with, and adapts it with some modern sensibilities, and amps up the violence and action quite a bit. The lead characters are likable, and the supporting cast does a great job as well, especially Ian McShane as the king. The Horror Nerd doesn't go into every move expecting a Best Picture nominee, so I am not easily disappointed. I had reasonable expectations for this film, and they were definitely met.
On a separate note, I thought that the 3-D was excellent! I had written off 3D as just a gimmick, and in some ways it still is, but in the hands of a filmmaker that knows what to do with it, it can be really good and this is one of those cases.
Now, what I didn't like about it. I simply don't understand why filmmakers like Bryan Singer (who directed), simply can't help but fall into the same old traps and cliche's. For example, the villain in the film become apparent immediately because he's so "villain-like". In fact, they might as well have given him a mustache to twirl. His sidekick is so over-the-top cartoonish that I found myself rolling my eyes every time he was on the screen. I wish that directors and screenwriters could STOP DOING THIS!! The entire plot of the film would have been for the better if the villain's betrayal had been more subtle and unexpected. (Trust me, I am NOT giving anything away by saying that).
The CGI is servicable, and they could not have pulled this film off without massive use of it. but they still have not quite perfected human/CGI interaction, and it REALLY shows through at times. The giants all have their unique characteristics, which was pretty cool, but when there are a lot of them on the screen at the same time, and in some of the close-ups, you can really see the limitations that CGI has.
Lastly, and please take my word for this, this film is NOT for very young children. My eight year old daughter is pretty tough, and she squirmed a few times and asked me, "Daddy, what just happened"? Of course, it all depends on each child, but this Horror Nerd thinks that ten and up might be the way to go here.
Overall, "Jack the Giant Slayer" was an enjoyable fairytale romp and if you are looking for some movie fun, then you should definitely go and see it.
Horror Nerd's Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 broken eyeglasses!
Overall, the plot is a retelling of the story of "Jack and the Beanstalk", which has been told 1,000 times, but this time on a much grander scale. We begin with Jack as a child, being told the story of the giants by his father, reading from a book left to him by his mother. At the same time, we have the same story being told to an unidentified young girl by her mother in a parallel "setup" if you will.
Years ago a bridge between the world of humans and the world of giants is created via the aforementioned beanstalk. A war ensues between the giants and the humans, and the giants are only defeated when King Erik the Great forges a crown infused with the heart of one of the giants, which allows him to control them. The giants are driven back to their realm, and the beanstalk is cut down, forever imprisoning them. They are not happy about this, needless to say.
Flash forward and Jack (Nicholas Hoult) is now a young man living on a farm, but yearning for adventure. As luck would have it, the young girl from the beginning of our story turns out to be the princess of the kingdom, who also yearns for life outside the castle walls. We are now in familiar territory, with Jack being sent to the city to sell his uncle's horse and cart, only to return with a handful of magic beans. We all know what happens from here.... Or so we think.
Everyone knows I try not to spoil any plots with my reviews, but the film trailers make it clear that the bridge between wars is rebuilt, the princess (Eleanor Tomlinson) is missing (the farmhouse she was talking shelter in having been whisked up the beanstalk), and the king sends his men (led by Ewan McGregor in a swashbuckling role), along with his trusted adviser (the great Stanley Tucci), up the beanstalk to find out what has happened to her, and to discover what's at the top of the beanstalk, as the giants have long since faded into legend.
The remainder of the film is an enjoyable action romp through a familiar childhood fairly tale. We have action, romance, humor, villainy and all of the other standard fairy tale elements. We also have some really cool CGI giants, led by a massive two-headed brute named General Entin, who has some grand plans of his own. We also find out where the famous line, "Fee, Fie, Fo, Fumm" comes from, which by the way, I waited the entire film to hear! Again, without giving too much away, the war between humans and giants is reignited, with everyone having their own agenda, and mayhem ensues!
OK, so what did I like about it? Well, I am all about escapism at the movies sometimes, and that's exactly what this is. Enjoyable movie fun. The plot takes a childhood story that we are all familiar with, and adapts it with some modern sensibilities, and amps up the violence and action quite a bit. The lead characters are likable, and the supporting cast does a great job as well, especially Ian McShane as the king. The Horror Nerd doesn't go into every move expecting a Best Picture nominee, so I am not easily disappointed. I had reasonable expectations for this film, and they were definitely met.
On a separate note, I thought that the 3-D was excellent! I had written off 3D as just a gimmick, and in some ways it still is, but in the hands of a filmmaker that knows what to do with it, it can be really good and this is one of those cases.
Now, what I didn't like about it. I simply don't understand why filmmakers like Bryan Singer (who directed), simply can't help but fall into the same old traps and cliche's. For example, the villain in the film become apparent immediately because he's so "villain-like". In fact, they might as well have given him a mustache to twirl. His sidekick is so over-the-top cartoonish that I found myself rolling my eyes every time he was on the screen. I wish that directors and screenwriters could STOP DOING THIS!! The entire plot of the film would have been for the better if the villain's betrayal had been more subtle and unexpected. (Trust me, I am NOT giving anything away by saying that).
The CGI is servicable, and they could not have pulled this film off without massive use of it. but they still have not quite perfected human/CGI interaction, and it REALLY shows through at times. The giants all have their unique characteristics, which was pretty cool, but when there are a lot of them on the screen at the same time, and in some of the close-ups, you can really see the limitations that CGI has.
Lastly, and please take my word for this, this film is NOT for very young children. My eight year old daughter is pretty tough, and she squirmed a few times and asked me, "Daddy, what just happened"? Of course, it all depends on each child, but this Horror Nerd thinks that ten and up might be the way to go here.
Overall, "Jack the Giant Slayer" was an enjoyable fairytale romp and if you are looking for some movie fun, then you should definitely go and see it.
Horror Nerd's Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 broken eyeglasses!