Jack
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Feb 27, 2013 · "Jack the Giant Slayer" is filled with neat touches, from the casting of Ewan McGregor as Elmont, a knight in shining armor who's supposed to be the hero of the story and is indeed A hero, but not THE hero, to an epilogue that's just flat-out cool.
When young farmhand Jack (Nicholas Hoult) unwittingly opens a portal between his realm and a race of giants, it rekindles an ancient war. Roaming Earth for the first time in centuries, the ...
- (209)
- Bryan Singer
- PG-13
- Nicholas Hoult
JACK THE GIANT SLAYER retells the old English fairy tale about a farm boy named Jack (Nicholas Hoult) who grows up hearing the legend of King Erik, who defeated giants of Gantua, a land between heaven and Earth.
- Bryan Singer
- Sandie Angulo Chen
- Ewan Mcgregor, Nicholas Hoult, Stanley Tucci
- Is Jack back?
- Verdict
By Roth Cornet
Posted: Feb 27, 2013 8:51 pm
Revisionist fairy tales have become more and more popular over the last several decades. The most beloved childhood fables have been repeated and reimagined over the ages, of course. We’ve seen family-friendly or Disneyfied retellings of Grimm’s stories, darker myths such as Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth and contemporized versions of classics such as 1996’s Freeway (derived from Red Riding Hood).
This big budget, effects-heavy, 3D version of Jack and the Beanstalk, however, doesn’t seem to quite know what it wants to be. It is by turns a live-action cartoon with broadly-drawn, though intermittently entertaining, characters; a CGI animation heavy cartoon, cartoon with somewhat muddled creature design and a short-lived sword and shield adventure. The overall effect is a fairly entertaining, though less than ground-breaking, film.
The film stars Nicholas Hoult as the titular Jack, a farm boy who must (literally) rise to the challenge when he inadvertently unleashes a pathway to the land of the giants, sending his love-interest, Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson), hurtling into their dangerous world. He is aided in his mission by her guard Elmont (Ewan McGregor) and obstructed by the ruthlessly ambitious Roderick (Stanley Tucci). The cast is rounded out by Ian McShane in a rare comedic turn as Isabelle's loving and occasionally farcical father, King Brahmwell and Bill Nighy as the de facto leader of the giants, General Fallon.
The performances are generally strong, but as with the rest of the film, they are a mixed bag tonally speaking. Tomlinson and Hoult are sincere and often charming with a nice bit of chemistry between them. They seem to be functioning in a more classic fable, though, whereas McGregor and Tucci exist in a broad comedy that seems to be aimed specifically at very young children. Nighy, meanwhile, creates a dramatic, and in moments legitimately scary, villain. Unfortunately the design of the giants is pretty goofy, and does not match Nighy's portrayal. His two-headed General Fallon is particularly weird. (There is seemingly no reason for the two heads!) McShane, however, finds the perfect balance between heartfelt, offbeat and funny.
Though there are some charming elements here and there, Jack the Giant Slayer feels like a somewhat awkward and mixed big screen adaptation.
- Roth Cornet
Feb 26, 2013 · Jack the Giant Slayer: Film Review. Simply in terms of storytelling, logistics and consistent viewer engagement, "Jack" is markedly superior to the recent "Hobbit." By Todd...
Mar 1, 2013 · Jack the Giant Slayer: Directed by Bryan Singer. With Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci. The ancient war between humans and a race of giants is reignited when Jack, a young farmhand fighting for a kingdom and the love of a princess, opens a gateway between the two worlds.
While it borrows from plenty of other better movies that came before it, "Jack the Giant Slayer" is one buffed-up fairy tale movie that works. Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 4, 2023
