Jack the Giant Slayer

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Eddie Marsan, Ian McShane, Warwick Davis, Bill Nighy
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Jack (Nicholas Hoult) is given magic beans by a mysterious monk. When one of the beans gets wet, it grows to a massive beanstalk, forming a bridge to the land of the giants.

Review:

Tim: It really seems like Jack the Giant Slayer was a giant misfire in every sense. It's not an awful movie, but there's so many questionable decisions that were made, and the quality is fairly low. First off, who is this movie supposed to be targeting? The film seems far too cartoonish and childish for adult viewers to get excited, and too scary and mature for the youngest audiences. It's no surprise to me that this film did not do well at the box office- it's not really appealing to anyone besides 13 year old boys.

I think Bryan Singer is a very good director, but I have no idea what he was doing here. This was always a risky project to tackle, and it's not especially well executed. I found the early scenes of the film to be surprisingly unengaging. I just didn't see a compelling reason to care about Jack, the princess, or any of the characters. I was bored early on, and not overly interested in anything happening on screen. The film picks up a bit when our heroes climb the beanstalk and emerge in the land of the giants. However, the giants are depicted in a far too bland, juvenile manner. We watch as a giant picks his nose while cooking, and another is flatulent. I could not believe either of these things happened, as they weren't funny, and would only appeal to the most simple of preteen boys. Those scenes were just stupid and goes to show you what type of "humor" was present in the film. The script also makes use of a series of puns, none of which are particularly clever.

The cast was fine, but they are stuck in a weak film. Nicholas Hoult did an average job as Jack. I thought he was fine, and I rooted for him, but he does not give the most charismatic performance. Eleanor Tomlinson bored me with her performance- she did nothing memorable in a lacking performance. I liked seeing Ewan McGregor and his crazy hair, but he has only a few good moments in the entire film. Stanley Tucci was playing his villain over-the-top, which was sort of fun. The cast is good, but they just didn't have much to work with.

What is kind of crazy about Jack the Giant Slayer (which is a stupid title, they should have kept the original "Killer") is that the last 30 minutes of the film is actually really good. There's a big battle between the kingdom and the giants, and it's exciting, thrilling, and entertaining. The end of the film is by far its strongest aspect. Unfortunately, the first hour and fifteen minutes is a bit hard to sit through. If you can make it to the end, you'll be rewarded with a very compelling final battle.

This is a film that just seemed to be such a gamble- there's a way to make a great movie out of this story, but a thousand ways to make a disappointing one. Bryan Singer did not find the right way to execute this story. I'm glad I saw this film once, but the overall experience was pretty disappointing, and I can't imagine ever sitting through this film again. Sure, the film had a few good moments (I still love the scene where Ewan McGregor is going to be baked by the giants), but there's dozens of weak, silly moments peppered throughout the film. Jack the Giant Slayer is a film that just misses the mark, and is never more than a lackluster film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: X-Men, Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman