Title: Jack the Giant Slayer
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Distributed by: Warner Bros Pictures
Release Date: March 1, 2013
Rated: PG-13
Synopsis: When Jack, a young farmhand, accidentally opens a gateway to the world of Giants an ancient war restarts as the giants, thought only of as legend, try to reclaim the world they lost centuries ago. Jack is forced into a fight to not only save his own life, but that of those in the kingdom and that of the princess. (Via Wikipedia)
Brian: Sometimes I’ll see a movie I’m not enormously interested in because I love the director. While there have been directors who have made as many terrible films as they’ve made good ones (I’m looking at you, Rob Reiner), many are great talents who only rarely make a mis-step. Bryan Singer is one of those directors I’ve always adored, particularly with The Usual Suspects and the work he did on the first two X-Men movies, especially with X2, which before The Dark Knight was my favorite comic book movie of all time. He’s not a director who necessarily makes a major stamp on every film he makes—he’s simply known for making great entertainments. His Superman Returns was a bit of a let-down, but I liked to think that as a fluke. Jack the Giant Slayer didn’t look to be anything special, but it had Singer involved, it had the talented and adorable Nicholas Hoult, and it had giants, lots and lots of giants. That was enough to get me to the theatre, and I’m glad it did. There’s been mostly negative press for this movie ,but if you go in with the right state of mind, this is an enormously entertaining romp that the whole family can enjoy.
Shaunta: This is definitely the type of movie that you want to approach in the spirit of fun. It doesn’t have any greater message or anything, but it is a lot of fun. It’s visually pretty, has a good amount of action, which is interspersed with humor. For this movie, I had a kind of strange way of gauging my interest. Brian sat on one side of me and a few seats down on the other side was an older man who came in one his own and, for some inexplicable reason, whistled throughout the whole picture. There were parts of the movie that were engrossing enough than I wouldn’t notice the whistling man, and then the film would lose some steam and there he’d be again. Over all, though, I thought this one was a lot of fun. I wish I’d brought my daughter (she was off having her own adventures, though.) If you can get past trying to make the movie make sense (don’t bother asking yourself, for instance, why anyone would completely surround a giant beanstalk with humanity and then cut it down and not expect it to flatten things), then you’ll get your entertainment money’s worth.
Brian: It’s been an interesting week here with two films coming out that revisit and revamp classic stories—the second, of course, is Oz: The Great and Powerful, opening Friday. We all know why these movies are green-lit. Versus a totally original story, one that may alienate audiences with its unfamiliarity, movies like Jack the Giant Slayer are made to lure in audiences who are familiar with the classic Jack and the Beanstalk story, who are nostalgic for the story. My nostalgia when it comes to this tale is not the original story itself, but the Fairy Tale Theatre episode with Elliot Gould and Jean Stapleton. Bryan Singer’s update is miles away from that tender episode of 80′s TV, but it’s still just the same. The special effects for the giants aren’t as cheesy as I expected, and the look of the beanstalk is especially fantastic. The cast in the film does a commendable job, with Ewan McGregor and Stanley Tucci memorable in supporting roles. Nicholas Hoult, who just had a breakthrough a month ago with his likable turn as a zombie in Warm Bodies, does another fine job here, as the all-American (or British, I’d say) hero. About two-thirds of the way in, the movie feels like it’s ending, and I wouldn’t have been happy if the credits rolled at this point, but then a twist allows for a third act that is the most action-packed and intense thirty minutes of a so-called “family film” I’ve seen in a long time. Jack the Giant Slayer is not a great movie but it’s entertaining while it lasts, and it provides two hours of unabashed fun. Sometimes that’s all you want with a movie, and that’s what you get with this one. I’ve always admired Bryan Singer, and I can’t wait for him to return to the world he’s very familiar with. He’s directing the next X-Men movie!!
Shaunta: Nicholas Hoult is endearingly clumsy and awkward. I really enjoyed the female lead as well. Eleanor Tomlinson plays the princess Isabel, who is hellbent on having her own adventures. While the love story is pretty traditional, I liked that she was a strong character who didn’t completely rely on the (many) men around her to save her. Thinking back, she’s nearly the only female character in the whole movie, and certainly the only one with any impact (the Wikipedia page doesn’t list any other women on the cast list.) Often when a movie is so heavily male, the women that are represented can be either token or eye candy. Isabel was fully developed and well-rounded, and I appreciated that.
