Jack the Giant Slayer: Family Adventure with Romance

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Whether or not it’s clever, anything that smacks of “fairy tale” means this moviegoer will see it. Whether or not Jack the Giant Slayer is clever entertainment doesn’t seem to matter in the end. A meet-cute and happy-ever-after is all I need.

Jack the Giant Slayer (2013) Film Review

Fate is about to entwine the lives of a simple farm boy and a princess. When he treats her like a treasure to protect instead of the future ruler, Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson) is done with her father (Ian McShane), and his rules. Or so she thinks. This time she determines to prove her mettle which leads her straight to the home of Jack (Nicholas Hoult).

As children, Isabelle and Jack were told legends of when giants and magic beans dictate a land without security. That is until Isabelle’s ancestor bans the giants to a land where they could no longer be a threat. Years later, Jack has ends up with a satchel full of beans – something he has no idea the value of what he holds.

Isabelle’s plans suddenly go array when the pair become trapped in Jack’s home by a giant stalk bursting through the floorboards. With the princess in danger, Jack sets off to rescue her, fighting unexpected enemies and secrets in the journey to return her to her throne.

Some fairy tales seem to get all the luck. While everyone gushes over princesses and princes, the underrated gets lost in the shuffle. Fortunately, thanks to ABC’s Once Upon a Time, there’s a fascination with the beloved fables. Fresh spins on them is en-vogue making this the time to embark on an adventure. With little marketing but an impressive cast list, this recent adaptation may have escaped everyone’s notice.

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To be honest, the first ten minutes of the movie underwhelm. While I like it fine, a “spark” is missing. Where’s the adventure? The excitement? It may not be the most familiar story in my repertoire but anything that involves a young man climbing up a beanstalk deserves (or demands) more than the script puts in. It isn’t long after this that someone whisks Isabelle into the sky and Jack gets a knock on the head for his troubles. Most of the film unfolds in the “forbidden land” where the giants roam. Even once the adventure starts rolling, the speed doesn’t amp up. Or not as expected.

Before Demelza (from #Poldark), Eleanor Tomlinson played a princess in this cute #fairytale! Click To Tweet

There is still lots of entertainment value at play, which makes us wonder if Jack will succeed to save a friend or if he’ll smuggle Isabelle out. Even with all these moving pieces, things play conservative. Fortunately Jack’s character is a character who’s well developed. He starts out as a farmer with no expectations, and he becomes a noble hero. This compels the script to betterment, especially considering it had to splice the story to share part of its principle with a female character, one that originally had no female counterpart.

Perhaps what this movie does best is the humor. It’s fun, and inject this magic in all the right places; some of which is likely spontaneous. The cast also impresses. It’s safe to say Hoult has become one of my favorite silver screen actors. I saw him play “dead” (Warm Bodies), and step comfortably into the role of a beastly superhero (X-Men). Now I enjoy his take on an iconic titular character. Though it’s not as prevalent as a storybook, the romantics between Jack and Isabelle is sweet. I like the actress’ who plays Isabelle; her fragile beauty and acting suit the part. Ewan McGregor and Stanly Tucci also appear.

I do enjoy this movie, but can admit the screenplay gets a little silly sometimes. One example is Isabelle looking as if she’s spent hours with a makeup brush (after traumatic events) or the few bits of sappy dialogue. Really, I appreciate the movie even in these instances since it never considers itself “epic” nor does it try to pawn itself off in that vein. In fact, really there is a lot of tongue and cheek humor during which the script pokes fun at itself. There’s an adorable end (up until it goes contemporary on us – don’t ruin a good thing, writers!) and impresses when it wisely steers away from political disaster. Like any good fairy tale, alls well that ends well even minus the few story squabbles.

In short, this is a delightful little adventure.


Parental concerns: there’s some “gory” violence with the giants though nothing too awful. Giants consume humans (briefly the camera shows a body hanging out of a mouth) as are animals, and one man is nearly baked; there is some crude humor. Profanity may be in the script a time or two, nothing horrible. The film is PG13

About Rissi JC

amateur graphic designer. confirmed bookaholic. bubbl’r enthusiast. critical thinker. miswesterner. social media coordinator. writer.

24 comments

    1. LOL! Bet 'Jack' is glad to have shed that distinction. ;)

      Do you think you'd ever watch this one again, Ruth? I think a second viewing will improve my opinion since I'll know what to expect. Much like Mirror Mirror, I found 'Jack' a fun bit of entertainment.

  1. That does sound like a great cast :) My friend saw and said it was pretty good. Based on her thoughts and your review I'll have to get this one into my dvd player pretty soon :D Thank you!

    1. I know, right!? That cast list continually impressed me – I didn't even realize who some of them were until the credits at the end and of course then I was like, duh!.

      Hope you enjoy if/when you get a copy, Sierra. It was fun!

  2. I'm a sucker for fairytale movies so I am planning to watch this.
    You said in the review you thought it was silly sometimes. Is it less silly than say ,Mirror , Mirror?

    1. As am I, Ella! Can never resist a new fairy-tale even if it is a bit silly. What's great about 'Jack' is it knew it wasn't "epic" and didn't care. The humor poked fun at things and I liked that.

      …hmm, less silly than Mirror Mirror…? I think so. There were more "serious" moments, I suppose.

    1. Happy fairy-tale journeying, Kellie! If you see it, as always I'd enjoy your impression of the film. I thought it was fun and enjoyed that it never took itself too seriously. :)

    1. It was a whole lot of fun, Hannah! Happy watching if you do check it out.

      I've only seen Ewan in one or two things but he was WAY fun in this. He even gets his "moments" to prove loyalty and heroism even though he's not the hero. :)

  3. I'm normally not to interested in fairy tale movies (well, I love EverAfter), I'm not exactly sure why.. but this one sounds sorta interesting. Even if it may be a little cheesy. =)

    1. Ooo! I am a sucker for Ever After. It's definitely one of those "keeper" movies.

      We all enjoy something different, Evelyn – and thank goodness for that! It makes life interesting. :) If you do watch 'Jack,' I sure hope you get some laughs out of the experience.

  4. The trailers made this film look terrible, but I really enjoyed it. My only complaint is near the end — as a girl who loves girl-power endings, I wanted to see the heroine don the crown and control the giants, not Jack. He'd already proven himself a hero — let her have that moment.

    1. Prior to seeing this movie, I think I saw its first trailer preceding Warm Bodies which of course, I watched only a week or so prior to 'Jack.' That particular trailer made me laugh and go, "ooh! I want to see this!"

      Spoilers:

      See… I liked that Isabelle didn't don the crown. Maybe it was because I expected her too and it was a surprise to see Jack holding it…

      Small as it was, that took me by surprise.

      End

      Either way, the movie was really fun! :)

  5. I've wanted to see this since hearing about it before it came to theatres. I still haven't 8-P I plan to rent it as soon as possible, though I am under orders to rent The Eagle first.

    1. Well, we don't want to challenge those orders! ;)

      When you do finally get to see 'Jack,' I wish you happy watching! It's fun even with the flaws. I like to say, what movie is perfect? None! Each just vary in their degree of disappointments and for a Friday night movie, I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

  6. I'd read before that it's not a perfect movie. But it sounds pretty fun nonetheless! I've enjoyed several lesser known and perhaps unpopular films over the years. So I'm hoping the day will come quickly that I get my chance to watch this. :)

    1. It is, Kara! Who needs perfect anyway, right!? ;)

      Definitely one that I'll likely own someday. Like you, I enjoy discovering the "lesser-known" movies also. It's more fun that way.

    1. It was fun, Rosie! I think your family would enjoy it – my mom LOVED it. Definitely plan to enjoy re-watches. :)

      Let me know what you all thought of it.

  7. Overall I liked this one… It did lack something, but if you can overlook that you will be able to enjoy what it does have… Oh, and I totally loved the contemporary ending!!! lol ;)

    1. Being honest, I probably shouldn't say that the last scene "ruins" the film, Tory but… the fairytale happily-ever-after girl in me liked the scene of Jack with his family – and that was enough. I didn't *need* a tacked on scene. Either way, it was fun even in the flaws. :)

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