Review - Jack The Giant Slayer (2013)

Starring Nicholas Hoult, Ewan McGregor and Eleanor Tomlinson.
Directed by Bryan Singer.

Another childhood fairytale is brought to life on the big screen. After suffering through Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunter, I was very sure Jack The Giant Slayer wouldn't be any different - but boy was I wrong.

The film follows Jack (Nicholas Hoult), a poor farm boy who sets out on a quest to save Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson) and the world from a race of giants who have invaded their world through a magic beanstalk. Yes the story has its expected cliches but surprisingly, it turned out to be fun adaptation and adventure. From the cool opening story-telling sequence right down to the end, I must say that director Bryan Singer did a decent job with this. Though the character development and script isn't the greatest, there were some cool characters nonetheless, even the villains. Roderick and Wicke (Stanley Tucci and Ewen Bremner) were likable villains and provided much of the chuckles in this movie. The giants were also quite the characters; not as dark as I had imagined them to be. They were much more light-hearted and at times silly, which goes to show they had a children audience in mind too. All in all, I think the movie had solid acting, compared to the other fairytale adaptations I've seen.

The trailer for Jack The Giant Slayer did no justice for it. As in, it made the movie look cheap and I was expecting some bad CGI throughout. However I was amazed at how great the CGI looked, especially for the giants. They blended into the film's beautiful scenery quite well and weren't over-the-top or too obvious. Visually, the movie is great. The shots and angles worked well and I couldn't help but think of similarities to The Hobbit film while I watched. This fast-paced fun consisted of enjoyable action sequences and the climatic face-off and ending left me satisfied and pleased with the effort. Nicholas Hoult did an okay job as lead, with Ewan McGregor doing a fine job as well. I think both characters did the best they could to carry this movie.

Surprisingly Jack The Giant Slayer was the opposite of what I thought it would have been. It's not great but at least it wasn't corny, poorly scripted and acted like most other adaptations. Fun and charming enough for both kids and adults.

Rating: 7/10



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