Review 244: Jack the Giant Slayer
The plot is at least passable. It feels like it's trying to be more mature on than the traditional fairy tale, more on a grand scale like a fantasy adventure and it's also a lot of fun.
It's kind of a male-oriented story of a boy becoming a man: at the start we see Jack as a meer farm boy and the whole movie is his evolution to how he become the legend. It also gives us the idea (I'm gonna reveal anything here but I'll just say this) that this takes place way in the past and the story has been pasted through generations and over time has come out in various interpretations. Fairytales are often borne of socio-political commentary and translated into stories for children. But what if they were based on something that really happened?.. What if we look back at the story that inspired the story that you read to your kids? That’s kind of what this movie’s about.
That's fine in its own way but the problem with Jack the Giant Slayer is that it never really takes any risks or chances to distinguish itself from other, more popular films in the same genre.
This film takes place in its own universe and has its own mythology, that's a given from the opening of this film, but a lot of that universe seems to have been made up of very standard fantasy genre elements and tropes, i.e. the lonely farm boy who seeks adventure, the feisty princess who doesn't want to get married and lead her own path and then theres giants, crowns, magical kingdoms etc. However you get the sense that Director Bryan Signer and screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie were trying to put their own unique spin on these tropes and create almost the definitive version of the fable Jack and the Beanstalk.
For instance, In the beginning, when we meet Jack and Isabelle, we see that they come from such different worlds/different backgrounds and that they are separated by class, but they have both heard legends of the giants as children (something I found really touching) and they are inspired to overcome the odds as young adults and have adventures of their own, that set is excellent and shows a lot of potential for some inventive twists but the execution is route and as a result it's never as reaches it's full potential
But due to some pesky studio constraints (the release date being delayed from June 2012 to March 2013 and Singer toning down the visuals to make the film more family friendly) that never came to fruition and that's kind of like putting all your favourite books on the top shelf in your bedroom or kitchen, you can never really reach them - they're almost never really there and what's left is a fun, light but ultimately passable, ephemeral and fairly disposable family, fantasy adventure film with a large budget and a pretty good cast. Which, again, is fine, but with this cast and this director I was hoping for something with a bit more punch and more of a spin with more creativity.
But I won't deny that I had fun with this film, at least I was entertained and it defiantly is told with a lot of energy and life at least, so I'll give it that.
Director Bryan Signer's direction is fun, bringing to life the scope and spectacle that the film needs to ultimately succeed. The cinematography is splendid, there are some good special effects here and there, though the majority of the giants look like video game characters, the score by John Ottman is catchy, fantastic, spectacular, the production design is top notch, the costumes are beautiful, the props are well crafted, the make up is rich, the action scenes are exiting and well choreographed, the scenery is breathtaking, the sound effects are terrific, there are some great moments of humor, the creature design is mostly decent, the locations are lush and intriguing, the stunts are incredible and the ending was superb.
The acting for the most part is solid, even though the characters are thinly drawn to say the least, the actors do a pretty good job with the material their given.
Nicholas Hoult is pretty solid as Jack, showing he's a talented actor who can work with the most cliche of characters. He effortlessly captures the energy, wide eyed optimism and bravery required to play the titular hero.
Eleanor Tomlinson is luminous and lovely and pretty bad ass as Princess Isabelle. Isabelle very much fills the typical role of the free spirited princess who longs for adventure, doesn't like being in an arranged marriage and would rather lead her own path - very typical fairy tale stuff.
Ewan McGregor is fine as Elmont, the leader of the king’s elite guard - even if he never amounts to anything more than the loyal captain of the king's guard.
While his character is very thinly sketched, Stanley Tucci is treterous a Lord Roderick, the adviser to the king who seeks to take over the kingdom by controlling the giants with a magical crown. Even though his motivations are never made clear, Tucci (as expected) deliver plenty of menace and whenever he's onscreen.
Ian McShane also does fine in the role of King Brahmwell, the steadfast king of Cloister who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty
Bill Nighy delivers as darkly funny and menacing performance as Fallon, the two-headed leader of the giants. Doing more than enough to elevate his character beyond a generic evil lead villain.
Pitty that he's saddled with a superfluous second head (John Kassir).
To quote in.com, Jack the Giant Slayer doesn't leave much of a lasting impact, but it's an ok watch to say the most, 3.5/5.
The Anonymous Critic.
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