Jack the Giant Slayer (2013) review

A genre that has recently been all the rage in Hollywood are retellings/updates of classic fairy tales. Last year, there were two 'Snow White' themed films ('Mirror Mirror' and 'Snow White and the Huntsman') and earlier this year there was 'Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters', a film that was delayed about a year before it finally hit theaters in the dead month of January. The latest film of this 'genre', 'Jack the Giant Slayer', is another film that was pushed back from an earlier release date. Originally titled 'Jack the Giant Killer', this Bryan Singer-helmed fantasy film, based off of both the Cornish fairytale of the same name as well as 'Jack and the Beanstalk', was originally supposed to hit theaters in the summer of 2012 but was pushed back to March 2013 in order to give the filmmakers more time for post-production and marketing. It was also renamed 'Jack the Giant Slayer', most likely to reach out to a wider audience. But how about the film itself?

 

Like in the fairy-tales it is based on, the film follows the titular Jack (Nicholas Hoult), a young farmhand living with his uncle. One day, when Jack goes to the nearby kingdom in order to sell his horse to earn money, he receives some beans from a monk in exchange for the horse, who warns him 'not to get them wet'. Later that night, he is visited by Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson), the princess who Jack 'rescued' earlier that day in the kingdom. Soon enough, the beans get wet and a giant beanstalk emerges from the ground, and Isabelle is dragged up it while Jack is left behind. In response, he joins forces with the King's elite guard, led by Elmont (Ewan McGregor) on a mission to find the princess. However, it turns out that this beanstalk serves as the gateway between the human world and a world of giants, who are keen on conquering the mortals below.

The best way I can describe this film as a whole is that if you don't go in with very high expectations, then you will have a better time with it. That is because, when you look at it, Jack the Giant Slayer has a fairly simple story. It's your basic tale of an unexpected hero who fights enemies and saves the princess that has been done before. So, that means that the movie is at a disadvantage because you can kind of tell what's going to happen. Still, despite that, the movie is very entertaining. It could have used a bit more humor though as the humor that is there in the film is really nothing more than a couple of cheap one-liners and puns. It also doesn't help that most of the giants' (except Bill Nighy, who plays one-half of a two-headed giant) actions are mostly played for laughs. They pick their nose, fart, burp, and so on. They're not really as threatening as the filmmakers want them to be.

But on the bright side, the cast does a solid job, especially Nicholas Hoult as Jack, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors having already done a great job earlier this year in 'Warm Bodies'. Like in that movie, here he is charming, engaging, and very likable. The other two main leads, Tomlinson as Isabelle and McGregor as Elmont, are also very engaging and likable and Hoult and Tomlinson have solid chemistry. Finally, Stanley Tucci steals the spotlight whenever he's on screen as the villainous Roderick. Probably the only member of the cast who's rather underused is Ian McShane as the King, who's not given much to do until the end. So all in all, Jack the Giant Slayer may be a simple story, but the film is backed up by a enthusiastic cast and is entertaining to the point where you'll enjoy it. But like I said, don't go in expecting too much because otherwise you are not going to like it. I'm still not a big fan of all of these new updates to classic fairy tales, but out of all that I have seen so far, this one is the best.

Rating: 4/5

2013 Preview: March

Welcome back to the year-long preview into the many films that are set to come out in 2013. This is Part 3 of 12 and today we'll be looking at the schedule for films in the month of March, which from the looks of it seems to be the first big month of the year after two rather slow months in regards to the films that have come out so far.

*The first weekend of the month sees four new releases hitting theaters on March 1^st. The first is a comedy film, '21 and Over', which is written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the writing team behind 'The Hangover'. The film follows three friends who go out for the 21^st birthday of one of them, a straight-A student, on the night before an important school interview. Chaos ensues.

*Also coming out that weekend is 'Jack the Giant Slayer', the latest film from X-Men/X2 director Bryan Singer, and his first since 2008's 'Valkyrie'. The film is also one of the many delayed films of the year, as it was pushed back from an original June 2012 release date in order to have more time for post-production and marketing. Nicholas Hoult stars as Jack, a farmhand who accidentally opens a gateway from the human world to a world occupied by giants. Eleanor Tomlinson, Stanley Tucci, and Ewan McGregor co-star.



*In 'Stoker', which is notably the last film made by filmmaker Tony Scott before his death in August of 2012 (the film is also produced by his brother Ridley through their production company, Scott Free), a young girl named India (played by Mia Wasikowska) and her mother (Nicole Kidman) both become drawn to India's uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode) following the death of her father.



*The final release on March 1^st is 'The Last Exorcism: Part II', the sequel to the 2010 film 'The Last Exorcism'. Unlike the first film, it is not presented in a found-footage format. Ashley Bell reprises her role of Nell Sweetzer, the daughter of a farmer who was possessed by a demon in the previous film. As she begins to start a new life, the demon returns.

*A pair of films hit theaters on March 8^th. The first, 'Dead Man Down', is the latest film from director Niels Arden Oplev, the director of the original adaptation of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' (before David Fincher's 2011 American version). Colin Farrell stars as an enforcer named Victor, who works for a crime boss (played by Terrence Howard) who was responsible for the deaths of his wife and daughter. As Victor seeks revenge, he is blackmailed into helping a woman named Beatrice (Noomi Rapace (also from the original 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo')), who also seeks revenge against his boss.

*The other major film that weekend is 'Oz: The Great and Powerful', the latest adaptation of author L. Frank Baum's 'The Wizard of Oz' series. This new film, directed by Sam Raimi, follows the man who will eventually become the famous 'Wizard of Oz', a small-time circus magician named Oscar Diggs from Kansas (James Franco) who is whisked away to the land of Oz where everyone has been waiting for a great wizard who will set things right. Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis, and Rachel Weisz co-star as the three witches Glinda, Theodora, and Evanora.

*The first of two new releases for the weekend of March 15^th is 'The Call', a thriller film produced by WWE Studios. Halle Berry stars as a 911 operator who must work to save a girl from a killer. For the wrestling fans, wrestler David Otunga stars in the film.



*Also debuting that weekend is 'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone', a comedy starring Steve Carell as the titular Burt Wonderstone, a successful magician who must reunite with his former partner (played by Steve Buscemi) when an up and coming street magician (Jim Carrey) looks to steal his thunder. Alan Arkin and Olivia Wilde co-star.



*Another crowd of films hit theaters on the 22^nd. 'Olympus Has Fallen', directed by Antoine Fuqua ('Training Day') is one of two movies coming out this year based in the White House (the other being 'White House Down', directed by Roland Emmerich). In this film, Gerald Butler stars as a secret service agent who must rely on his inside knowledge to help retake the White House when terrorists take it over. Aaron Eckhart stars as the President while Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo, and Angela Bassett co-star.



*In 'Spring Breakers', four friends (Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, and Rachel Korine) rob a restaurant in order to finance a trip to Florida during Spring Break. When they are arrested, they are bailed out by a drug dealer named Alien (played by James Franco) who hires them to do some of his dirty work.

*The final release of the week is Dreamworks Animation's first project of the year, 'The Croods'. The film follows a prehistoric family who are forced to leave their home and go out into the dangerous world to find a new one. Nicolas Cage stars as the patriarch of the family and Emma Stone plays his eldest daughter. Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, and Clark Duke co-star. The film is co-directed by Chris Sanders, who created Disney's Lilo and Stitch and Dreamworks' How to Train Your Dragon.



*Four films close out the month on the 29^th. The first, 'G.I. Joe Retaliation', is the sequel to 2009's 'The Rise of Cobra'. As I've mentioned before, out of all the delayed films of 2013, this one is probably the most intriguing to talk about. Originally scheduled for a June 2012 release, the film was pushed back nine months to its current release date. While the official report has stated this delay was done in order to post-convert the film to 3-D, there are other reports saying that the real reason was for re-shoots to give more screen time to Channing Tatum, whose character Duke was apparently killed off in an earlier cut.

*In the wake of the Twilight series comes 'The Host', also written by Twilight's Stephanie Meyer. In the film, aliens called 'souls' invade Earth and begin to inhabit the minds of humans. Saoirse Ronan stars as Melanie Stryder, who is one of the humans whose mind is taken over by one of these 'souls'. The film is directed by Andrew Niccol (Gattaca).



*'Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor' is the latest film from director Tyler Perry based off of his play of the same name. In the film, a marriage counselor falls in love with one of her patients after being neglected by her husband.



*'The Place Beyond the Pines' reunites director Derek Cianfrance with star Ryan Gosling after they previously collaborated on the 2010 drama 'Blue Valentine'. Gosling plays a motorcycle stunt rider who turns to a life of crime in order to support his family. Bradley Cooper plays the cop that Gosling's character comes into conflict with.

And that's the lineup of films for March 2013. Check back in next month for Part 4.