Film Review: JACK THE GIANT SLAYER ★★☆☆☆

The very expensive FX-heavy high adventure Jack The Giant Slayer, courtesy of X-Men's original big screen mastermind Bryan Singer, is unlikely to swap places with your fond childhood memories of the familiar fee-fi-foe-fum fairy tale it takes an obvious lead from.

The basics are all still there: Jack, giants, magic beans and an upwards path to the sky via a mystical beanstalk.
While Jack the Giant Slayer will not wow you overall with originality, it does pack enough pop, punch and spectacle to keep your attention.

Following an unexpected opportunity to rescue the fiesty and incognito Princess Isabelle from a group of drunk hooligans in a tavern, common farmhand Jack (Nicholas Hoult) soon finds himself on an epic quest to save her again alongside all the King's men by climbing up the beanstalk and beyond the clouds to the land of giants.

There is both a backstory of an ages old struggle between humans and evil giants who enjoyed feeding on their smaller counterparts, and the villain arc of the treacherous traitor (Stanley Tucci) who has a dastardly plan up his sleeve to conquer both lands, but "Jack goes up the beanstalk to save the Princess " (Elanor Tomlinson), seems adequate enough for bullet points.

The film cruises at a brisk pace with its straightforward plot and inspired cast, and can be loud with plenty of PG-13 violence, but it never takes itself too seriously or gets heavy handed in the proceedings. Even clocking in at nearly two hours, it unfortunately often comes off like a condensed Syfy version of The Hobbit (and we have two more entries of that waiting in the wings).

While Hoult adds the necessary everyman conection to this fairy tale David & Goliath, I found the true heart and charm of the film belonged to Ewan McGregor as Elmont the knight, who leads Jack on the rescue mission on behalf of the King (Ian McShane). Hoult's Jack is unfortunately literally and figuratively constantly trying to climb upwards, whether its to prove his mettle, win the hand of the Princess, or defeat an army of angry human hungry giants. There isn't much depth to Jack beyond him living up to the title of the film. McGregor, who has been keeping to things as far removed from Star Wars-esque fare as he can, slips into this swashbuckling role of a non-Jedi knight with flawless ease and charm.

In the solid cast assembled, Stanley Tucci as Roderick, the turncoat who also has an arranged marriage to fair Princess Isabelle, finds a great balance as a PG-13 villain whose adept in R-rated murder (in a film ripe with well timed cut aways to avoid gore).

Tucci twists his proverbial bad guy mustache enough to be despised in a way that would make even Prince Humperdinck proud. Ian McShane never fails to bring presence to any role he takes on, but as King Brahmwell is given very little to do beyond delivering weight to a character who spends most of the film in a regal golden suit of armor.

The elaborate special effects and action sequences are hit and miss, ranging from awesome to cringe worthy. Detail in select close-ups of the all-CGI giants can look astounding, while numerous other digital reliant action shots look no better than poorly layered sequences from an outdated video game.

Sometimes the mash up of practical and digital sets works, sometimes it doesn't, with the latter primarily showcased in most of the trailers and ads on the web and TV. This surreal digital world seems to be the thing now with fantasy films, hitting high gear after Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland grossed over a $1 billion worldwide.

The giants, man eating monsters banished above the clouds ages ago are at times a frightening threat given their disheartening appetite and imposing size. Sadly though, the instrument of their eventual defeat is clearly revealed far too early in the film which offers little surprise when it counts.

The overall epic grand scale and ambition of the action and set pieces make it an ideal candidate for its IMAX presentation, but the 3D projection as always brings with it an overall darker appearance and casts on it a muddy haze. Singer thankfully keeps his 3D to surprisingly unobtrusive levels. It seems the format, now blatantly beyond overkill mode from every Hollywood studio on the map, is now being utilized more to rightfully add layers to a film rather than delivering speeding objects directly into the audience's lap.

Jack The Giant Slayer is an overall mixed bag that gets too caught up in its digital overkill and straightforward action adventure plot. Despite its good intentions and humor, it unfortunately also squarely fits into the book club of previous uninspired CGI fairy tale extravaganzas like Alice In Wonderland, Mirror Mirror and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. But fret not fantasy fans, more is on the way with Oz The Great And Poweful hitting theaters next Friday.

Jack The Giant Slayer opens in 3D, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D on March 1st.

REVIEW RATING: ★★☆☆☆
Directed By: Bryan Singer
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Ewan McGregor, Eleanor Tomlinson, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Bill Nighy
Studio: Warner Bros.
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 114 minutes

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