Year of Release: 2013
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Eleanor Tomlinson, Ian McShane, Eddie Marsan, Ewen Bremner, Christopher Fairbank, Simon Lowe, Ralph Brown, Mingus Johnston, Joy McBrinn, Warwick Davis, Peter Bonner, Craig Salisbury, Lee Boardman
Genre: Action, Adventure
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
Watch it on Amazon
Synopsis and Review
Director Bryan Singer followed the underrated "Valkyrie" with this take on the legend of Jack and the Beanstalk, an English Fairy Tale that goes back more than five millennia (according to its information on Wikipedia). It also reunited him with his former collaborator, screenwriter (and director) Christopher McQuarrie with whom he previously worked on "Public Access", "The Usual Suspects", and the aforementioned "Valkyrie". The film focuses its attention on Jack, an orphan farm young man living with his uncle in a modest house, in the Kingdom of Cloister. Jack, who has long loved stories as were told by his father, is approached by a monk, who gives him magical beans, but warns him not to get them wet as that will surely bring misfortune. The Princess of the kingdom who is rebelling against an imposed marriage, escapes the castle and seeks refuge at Jack's home. One of the beans accidentally gets wet due to the rain, and a massive and gigantic beanstalk starts growing, taking Jack's home with it, with him and Princess Isabelle in its interior. While Jack falls to the ground, his house and the Princess keep going up. The King sends a team, including Isabelle's suitor Roderick and his best knight Elmont, to rescue her, and Jack also volunteers to join that team. When they reach the top of the beanstalk, they realize they've hit an unknown territory, though they all have heard of the legend of existing giants up above their kingdom. They split into groups, in order to track more territory and locate Isabelle faster, but soon realize the legends are true, and the giants are very much a dangerous foe.
The success of Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" was a catalyst to revisit classic tales and fables, some of which experienced far more success than others (just how many versions of "Pinocchio" are needed for that matter). "Jack the Giant Slayer" and specifically its script, tries to put a spin on the story by creating this magical crown which holds power over the villainous giants. However where this script falters, is in the treatment of all of its characters, which continues to be limited, and cliché ridden. Unlike Tommy O'Haver's "Ella Enchanted" for instance, there isn't much of a subversive aspect to this story, or for that matter, to the film itself. The concept literally reads like a mathematical formula: briefly defined characters + well recognized fable + big budget + questionable visual effects = money in the bank. However something wasn't entirely well calculated in this formula, as the film turned out to be underwhelming, for the reasons already mentioned. Bryan Singer illustrates this film without much conviction, and the film is in fact rendered quite generically, without much of a specific point of view. It's not really a hearty comedy, nor is it a very exciting action driven narrative (the film doesn't really commit to tone). While Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" for instance is indeed one of that director's lesser endeavors, he still commits to the whole over the top fantastical aspect of it, whereas Bryan Singer is not entirely sure what to do with the material (the grotesqueness of the giants is very evident, but never truly capitalized upon). The film has a great cast, which makes it watchable, including Ewan McGregor, Nicholas Hoult, Ian McShane, Eddie Marsan and Stanley Tucci. The production team is also solid, with particular highlights going to Newton Thomas Sigel's cinematography, John Ottman's score, Gavin Bocquet's production design, and Joanna Jonhston's costumes, but the visual effects are a bit of a misfire. It's not a dreadful and inert viewing experience, but this cast and all the rest of this talented production team deserved better.
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