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About the Movie
An age-old war is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the long-banished giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack (Nicholas Hoult), into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend . . . and gets the chance to become a legend himself.
Credits
Director
Screenwriter
Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
52%- Reviews Counted: 197
- Fresh: 102
- Rotten: 95
- Average Rating: 5.7/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Rotten: The movie feels so much like a video game that your fingers instinctively itch to do something, though a Jack video game isn't one we'd really want to play.
Fresh: Jack the Giant Slayer is slight, but consistently amusing.
Fresh: The script sets up the situation and characters nicely, and the actors are terrific.
Rotten: While it's fine for a director to explore his childhood inspirations, you hope he would bring something a bit more personal to it.
Customer Reviews
An Action-Packed Fantasy Film That's Fee-Fi-Fo-Fun!
Sorry about the bad pun. That was the best I could come up with for the title. But yeah, I really enjoyed "Jack the Giant Slayer." In fact, I'd even call it one of the best fairy tale adaptations I've seen so far, if not the best. The performances are engaging and energetic, the story is easy to follow along with, and the visual effects are mostly breathtaking, especially when we get to land of the giants. There wasn't one moment throughout this flick that didn't have my full attention. Even the predictable romance scenes with Nicholas Hoult as Jack and Eleanor Tomlinson as Princess Isabelle were a surprisingly nice balance to all the action-packed, over-the-top battle sequences that constantly occurred every fifteen minutes or so. Sure, some of the characters could've benefited from better development, and the storytelling may not have been the most ambitious or original, but it still kept me consistently entertained, which is all I can really ask from an action-fantasy movie. So if you're in the mood to watch an exciting medieval adventure full of larger-than-life set pieces, charismatic actors, and rapid comic timing, I'd say "Jack the Giant Slayer" is certainly worth your time.
A SLIGHTLY BETTER-THAN-AVERAGE FAIRY TALE ADAPTATION
Most of us would sigh heavily at the mere thought of yet another fairy tale blockbuster, but in the case of "Jack the Giant Slayer," the filmmakers and cast demand a bit more attention. And sure enough, the end result is refreshingly smarter and funnier than we all might expect. Of course, there are still the blatant problems of bland storytelling and far too many digital characters, but the restless pace and witty performances make it a lot of fun to watch from beginning to end. So the story is basically just "Jack and the Beanstalk" with a ton of added action mayhem, as orphaned farm boy Jack (Nicholas Hoult) sells his horse for a mysterious bag of supposedly magic beans. When one of them eventually gets wet, a massive beanstalk rises spontaneously from the ground and manages to propel Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson) into the realm of the giants, reawakening an ancient legend that had died off centuries ago. So the king (Ian McShane) decides to enlist Jack to join a rescue team of elite guards (which includes Ewan McGregor, Eddie Marsan, and Ewen Bremner) and Isabelle's intended suitor, the shifty, weasel-like Roderick (Stanley Tucci). Up above the clouds, they encounter two-headed giant Fallon (Bill Nighy) and his nasty, fearsome horde. But rescuing Isabelle is only the first obstacle they must all face if they are ever to make it out alive (and most of them won't). This loosely-structured plot just zips along without pausing for a breath, encompassing massive set pieces and several gritty battle sequences, as well as small moments of drama and romance. Meanwhile, Jack and Isabelle constantly cast lusty glances at each other, even when they're both in physical peril. Director Bryan Singer does a great job of bringing out the energy of these characters to keep us involved in what's going on, playing on the dizzying heights of the settings while showing off fantastic fairy tale imagery in the unique sets, costumes, and landscapes. It's understandable why he decided to digitally create the giants rather than have actors play them, but this leaves a problematic hole where the monsters should be. Aside from Nighy's more obviously recognizable performance-captured face, they all just look like dead-eyed cartoons, which essentially turns the flick into a medieval "Transformers" movie. Even so, the actors play their characters with a great amount of commitment. Tucci arguably gets the best role of the film by far as a smirking bad guy who manages to evoke a bit of "The Princess Bride" with Roderick's deceptive sarcasm and irony. By contrast, Hoult and Tomlinson's performances are rather bland, but then again, they are the romantic heroes, so we don't expect much else from them. But at least they're engaging enough that we still cheer for them to make it through in the end. Meanwhile, McShane and McGregor provide some witty edges for their simple, nice-guy characters. That especially goes for McGregor in one memorable sight gag in which he's being prepared as a pig in a blanket among actual pigs in blankets. So even if the big climactic battle sequence feels like an unnecessary excuse to stretch this plot out any further than it has to, there are still moments of genuine humor and suspense along the way to keep us entertained. The visuals, while a bit murky at times, can be breathtaking, and the acting is mostly enthusiastic and reasonably fun. It may not be the most well-executed or solidly scripted fairy tale adaptation out there, but as a big-budget fantasy-adventure, it still gets the job done. If you're in the mood to watch a special effects-heavy action flick full of ridiculous characters and colossal battles galore, "Jack the Giant Slayer" is a solid pick. As long as you leave your brain at the door and enjoy the fast-paced ride for what it is, you should have a good time. At the very least, it's worth renting.
Good movie
It was good a Giant adventure
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