Rated
PG-13 (Intense Scenes of Fantasy Action Violence, Some Frightening Images and Brief
Language)
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 54 Minutes
Cast-
Nicholas
Hoult-Jack
Eleanor
Tomlinson-Princess Isabelle
Ewan
McGregor-Elmont
Stanley
Tucci-Sir Roderick
Ian
McShane-King Brahmwell
Bill
Nighy and John Kassir (voice)-General Fallon
Eddie
Marsan-Crawe
Ewen
Bremner-Wicke
Cornell
John (voice)-Fee
Andrew
Brooke (voice)-Fye
Angus
Barnett (voice)-Foe
Ben
Daniels (voice)-Fumm
Directed
by Bryan Singer
 |
| Director Bryan Singer channels "The Lord of the Rings" in "Jack the Giant Slayer," an epic retelling of the oft-told English fairy tale. |
Note: Screened on Tuesday, February 26, 2013 at AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13.
Following
on the heels of January's "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters,"
Hollywood's current obsession with revisionist fairy tales continues with Bryan
Singer's "Jack the Giant Slayer." One of the most underrated
directors working today (in my opinion), Singer made his debut with 1993's
"Public Access" at the Sundance Film Festival but it was his 1995 sophomore
effort "The Usual Suspects" (Remember Keyser Söze?) that marked him
as a major talent to watch. This led to Singer landing the job of a lifetime
when he signed on to direct "X-Men" in late-1996, which had been
languishing in development hell for close to seven years. Despite the intense
pressure from fans and the studio, Singer exceeded all expectations as
"X-Men" went on to become a critical box office success, spawning not
only a new franchise but also reigniting Hollywood's interest in superheroes. Based
on the oft-told English fairy tale, "Jack the Giant Slayer" is facing
the same situation as "X-Men," except the risks of failure are much,
much higher. In production for the better part of four years and carrying a
gargantuan $190 million price tag (not to mention its release was delayed for
an additional nine months), a lot is riding on this film, with some already
pegging it as this year's "John Carter." As the first big-budget
blockbuster of 2013, "Jack the Giant Slayer" is rather underwhelming
considering Singer's pedigree but the film remains enjoyable even if it never
quite reaches the grandiose heights that it so yearns for.
Long ago, a group of
monks, wanting to meet their God, used some magic beans to grow beanstalks that
reached all the way up to the heavens. The monks climbed the beanstalks and
encountered the land of Gantua, home to a race of bloodthirsty giants. These
giants came down and began wrecking havoc on mankind but the heroic King Erik
managed to drive them back using a special crown forged from a giant's heart.
Through his actions, King Erik restored peace to the kingdom and when he
finally passed away, he was buried with the crown, his hand clutching a pouch
of the magic beans. The giants remained trapped in Gantua but they never forgot
their defeat, vowing revenge on Erik and his kin. This story eventually faded
into myth and legend, becoming nothing more than a fairy tale told to children
like young Jack. After losing his father to the plague, Jack (Nicholas Hoult)
ekes out a meager living working on his uncle's farm. Sent by his uncle to the
nearby Kingdom of Cloister to sell their horse, Jack instead runs into a
nervous monk, who offers the farm boy some beans in exchange for the horse.
Returning home, Jack's uncle berates his nephew for failing to complete such a
simple task and he throws the beans away in anger. At the same time, Princess
Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson) is being castigated by her father, King Brahmwell
(Ian McShane), for sneaking out of the castle. Unhappy about her arranged
marriage to the greedy Sir Roderick (Stanley Tucci) and yearning for adventure,
Isabelle leaves the castle but is forced to seek shelter when she is caught in
a fierce storm. By coincidence, the shelter happens to be Jack's farm. Before
the two can get to know each other better, a massive beanstalk suddenly sprouts
from the ground, taking the princess along with it. King Brahmwell quickly
organizes a rescue effort, led by his most trusted knight Elmont (Ewan
McGregor). Eager to save the princess as well, Jack joins Elmont's group and
together they climb the beanstalk. Arriving in Gantua, long-believed to be a
mythical place, Jack and Elmont find themselves battling for their very
survival as the giants, led by the two-headed General Fallon (voice of Bill
Nighy and John Kassir), renew their ancient conflict against the humans.
"Jack the Giant Slayer" is what I would call 'perfectly adequate
entertainment'—a film that provides a few thrills in the moment but fails to
make much of an impression once it's over. Eschewing the dark revisionist
approach characterized by last year's "Snow White and the Huntsman"
and the angst-ridden romance of 2011's "Red Riding Hood," director
Bryan Singer instead goes for something more akin to an Errol Flynn film or
more accurately, "Willow." That means a heavy emphasis on the thrill
of adventure but the problem is that it feels like Singer is on autopilot here.
He tries hard to make the project come alive by throwing all these effects at
us yet there's a lack of urgency. The film opens with young Jack begging his
father to recount the story of the giants, segueing into a poorly animated
sequence. It presents an interesting 'what-if' scenario where fairy tales were
born out of actual events and how the passage of time turned these stories into
what they are today but the script never explores this to its full potential. For
the most part, Singer and his team of writers (which includes his old friend
Christopher McQuarrie) play it safe, embellishing the familiar bedtime story
with large-scale battles and some out-of-place humor. Most of the film feels
awfully protracted and the bevy of subplots introduced such as Isabelle's
yearning for independence and the giants' tension with Fallon's leadership is
largely just window dressing. The last twenty minutes manages to partially save
"Jack the Giant Slayer" as Singer takes a page out of the "Lord
of the Rings," pitting the giants against Brahmwell's small army in an
epic tug-of-war. It's well-shot and certainly gets the adrenaline pumping but
it's resolved in a rather abrupt manner, leading to an ending that's less than
satisfactory. Still, for all its faults, I was never bored while watching the
film and I admired the story's earnestness, which owes much to the cast's
performances.
2013 has been a busy year for Nicholas Hoult, who starred in the
zombie romance flick "Warm Bodies" in February. Hoult once again
makes for a likable leading man, exuding a sincere charm with his boyish grin
and tousled hair. There's a nice bit of chemistry shared between him and
Eleanor Tomlinson, despite her being reduced to little more than a
damsel-in-distress. The supporting cast seems to be having the most fun, with
Ewan McGregor channeling his inner Errol Flynn as a dashing knight and Stanley
Tucci twirling his invisible mustache as the dastardly Sir Roderick. Their
costumes look like they came straight out of a Renaissance fair! Ian McShane
treats the material with a straight face yet offers a few heartfelt moments
while Bill Nighy throws himself, or rather his voice, into his role as General
Fallon. The giants themselves are fully motion-captured CG creations but
despite the detail in their facial expressions, they never quite fit into the
film as seamlessly as they should, compared to something like Gollum. It's not
that the visuals are lazy, it's because they're so obviously CG that it makes
them stick out like a sore thumb. Although shot in native 3D, the added effect
proves to be underwhelming as it suffers from fuzzy images and lackluster
colors. IMAX did allow for an increased sense of scope but I recommend sticking
to the 2D version.
Released on March 1, 2013, "Jack the Giant Slayer"
has received mixed reviews with 55% on Rotten Tomatoes. The marketing campaign
has similarly been mixed, with the film coming off as too violent for younger
audiences and too silly for older ones. While it will take the top spot at the
box office by default, it's unlikely to be the hit that Warner Brothers is
hoping for since the film is projected to only earn $25 to $30 million, which
is disappointing given its $190 million production budget. International
grosses will help mitigate the loss but it's still a lose-lose situation for
the studio. "Jack the Giant Slayer" goes big yet it never fully
delivers a satisfactory experience. It's definitely entertaining but this will
ultimately be remembered as one of Singer's lesser efforts.
Final
Rating: 3 out of 5
"Here comes the thunder! Fee, fye, foe, fumm, onward and downward!"
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