Fee!
Fi!
Fo!
Fum!
This
one
is
no
fun!
Grafted
from
the
classic,
'Jack
and
the
Beanstalk'
children's
fantasy,
Jack
the
Giant
Slayer
is
a
soul-less
fantasy-action-adventure
that's
neither
captivating
nor
convincing.
On
the
whole,
one
barely
cares
about
most
of
the
live
characters,
let
alone
the
computer
generated
ones.
The
giants
are
cartoonish
and
not
at
all
menacing
to
look
at.
Except
for
the
two-headed
leader
and
a
few
others,
the
giants
didn't
have
any
intimidating
characteristics
making
it
difficult
to
accept
as
threatening.
Also
the
film
is
unnecessarily
in
3D
as
the
effects
are
so
inconspicuous.
It
seems
as
if
the
3D
effects
were
used
as
an
after
thought.
Singer
remains
a
competent
filmmaker
-
there
are
no
extraordinarily
incoherent
scenes
and
everything
cuts
together
-
but
there's
no
spirit
here.
The
film
is
bookended
by
an
unwanted,
laboured
culmination
and
your
archetypal,
board-setting
prologue,
which
overemphasizes
the
intertwined
fates
of
Jack
and
Isabelle.
And
the
plot
is
mostly
an
excuse
for
outsized
action
set
pieces.
As
for
the
production
values,
Gavin
Bocquet's
production
design
is
good
but
the
computer
generated
images
used
are
not
up
to
the
mark.
Joanna
Johnston's
costumes
could
pass
off
as
contemporary
clothing.
Newton
Thomas
Sigela's
cinematography
is
bright
and
vivid.
The
script
written
by
quartet,
Christopher
McQuarrie,
Darren
Lemke,
Dan
Studney
and
Singer
himself,
seems
flawed.
It
is
a
shameless
mixture
of
restricted
unoriginality,
crammed
with
muffled
one-liners
and
drained
dry
of
emotional
investment.
Story
Long,
long
ago,
in
the
kingdom
of
Cloister,
there
lived
a
disgruntled
Princess
Isabelle
(Eleanor
Tomlinson)
and
a
happy-go-lucky
orphan
named
Jack
(Nicholas
Hoult).
Their
paths
first
cross
in
a
market
place,
where
Jack
shields
the
Princess
from
undesirable
elements.
Soon,
due
to
financial
constraints,
Jack
is
again
at
the
market
to
sell
his
horse.
But
instead
of
selling
the
horse,
he
is
forced
to
barter
his
horse
with
beans
by
a
desperate
monk,
who
needs
the
horse
to
escape
the
King's
soldiers.
Unknown
to
Jack,
these
beans
are
the
magical
giant
beanstalk
that
sprout
when
they
get
wet.
Destiny
leads
Princess
Isabelle
to
Jack's
home
on
a
rainy
night
at
which
point
those
magic
beans
sprouts
volcanically
skywards,
taking
along
with
it,
the
house
and
the
princess
up,
up,
up
into
the
clouds,
toward
Gantua,
home
of
a
race
of
giants
led
by
the
two-headed
Fallon
(Bill
Nighy).
In
the
meanwhile,
Isabelle's
father,
King
Brahmwell
(Ian
McShane)
is
out
searching
for
his
daughter.
Seeing
the
giant
beanstalk
and
his
daughter's
bracelet
with
Jack
near
it,
he
deploys
his
trusted
staff
including
Elmont
(Ewan
McGregor),
Wicke
(Ewan
Bremner),
and
Roderick
(Stanley
Tucci),
who
is
Isabelle's
shifty
fiance,
to
make
the
skyward
journey
to
rescue
the
Princess.
Jack
too
joins
the
motley
group,
mostly
because
the
script
demands
it.
What
follows
is
a
lame
variant
on
exploring
Skull
Island,
with
Elmont
as
the
very,
very
heroic
knight
in
charge.
An
evil
schemer
betrays
everybody,
uses
an
ancient
relic
to
control
the
giants
and
then
gets
them
to
invade
the
human
kingdom
below.
Before
it's
all
over,
the
giants
have
found
a
way
down
to
Earth
and
threaten
to
take
over
once
and
for
all,
and
the
end
is
obvious
as
the
title
suggest
it.
Performances
Hoult
and
Tomlinson
are
appealing
actors
who
match
up
well.
They
are
capable
of
much
more
than
what
they
have
delivered.
It
is
only
Tucci
as
the
scheming
villain
and
McGregor
as
the
large-hearted
and
commanding
knight,
who
bring
life
to
their
performance.
Bill
Nighy
as
the
freaky
two-headed
leader
of
the
giants,
exults
some
pronounced
voice
work
worth
mentioning.
But
honestly
none
of
the
performances
are
outstanding
or
have
moments
to
shine.
The
characters
are
often
left
delivering
dumb,
obsolete
dialogues
that
falls
painfully
flat.
Verdict
Watch
Jack
the
Giant
Slayer
if
you
have
nothing
better
to
do.
Cast:
Nicholas
Hoult,
Eleanor
Tomlinson,
Ewan
McGregor,
Stanley
Tucci,
Bill
Nighy,
Ian
McShane,
Eddie
Marsan
and
Ewen
Bremner
Director:
Bryan
Singer
Click
on
the
slider
below
to
view
pictures
and
movie
stills
of
Jack
the
Giant
Slayer.
Jack
The
Giant
Slayer
The
film
is
directed
by
Bryan
Singer
and
stars
Nicholas
Hoult,
Eleanor
Tomlinson,
Stanley
Tucci,
Ian
McShane,
Bill
Nighy
and
Ewan
McGregor
with
a
screenplay
written
by
Darren
Lemke,
Christopher
McQuarrie
and
Dan
Studney.
Jack
The
Giant
Slayer
The
film
tells
the
story
of
Jack,
a
young
farmhand
who
must
rescue
a
princess
from
a
race
of
giants
after
inadvertently
opening
a
gateway
to
their
world.
Jack
The
Giant
Slayer
Development
of
Jack
the
Giant
Slayer
began
in
January
2009
with
the
hiring
of
DJ
Caruso
to
direct
film.
By
August,
Caruso
was
replaced
by
Singer,
who
hired
McQuarrie
to
rework
the
script
in
April
2010.
Jack
The
Giant
Slayer
The
main
characters
were
cast
between
February
and
March
2011,
and
principal
photography
began
in
April
2011
in
England
with
locations
in
Somerset,
Gloucestershire
and
Norfolk.
Release
of
the
film
was
moved
back
in
post
production
to
allow
more
time
for
special
effects
and
marketing.
Jack
The
Giant
Slayer
Jack
the
Giant
Slayer
is
an
average
film.
Jack
The
Giant
Slayer
Jack
the
Giant
Slayer
is
an
average
film.
Jack
The
Giant
Slayer
Jack
the
Giant
Slayer
is
an
average
film.
Jack
The
Giant
Slayer
Jack
the
Giant
Slayer
is
an
average
film.