Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

How sad is this?

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The film has two halves. The first half builds character as it effectively draws parallels between Jack (Nicholas Hoult) and the Princess (Eleanor Tomlinson). It becomes a classic rescue tale. The second half is more akin to a fight scene from LOTR.The giants are based on the legend of the Titans. Our characters are very stock and the dialogue was dry. The princess who is supposed to be some independent fighter speaks poetically and is lifeless...Kristen Stewart could have done better. The giants reminded me of Orcs and at times they were rather disgusting.I wonder who this film was for? For adults the plot is rather simple. I can't imagine the background of Giants who eat people and drop the F-bomb (two headed giant near the end) as being suitable for children. PG-13 indicates that is the appeal factor: Tweens and young teens who would indeed rate it 5 stars.This production is riding the coattails of the successful fairy tale productions that preceded it. It doesn't have a good script. It lacks crisp dialogue. It doesn't have the star appeal. It is for the younger generation who only care about the CG effects for which I will give it 3 stars.Parental Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.

The ancient war between humans and a race of giants is reignited when Jack, a young farmhand fighting for a kingdom and the love of a princess, opens a gateway between the two worlds. Jack the Giant Slayer is not perfect it has some clunky cgi and a bit of cheesy one liners and humor but the over the top action, some terrific cgi effects and the good perfomances from the cast make for a good and enjoyable sci-fi adventure from director Bryan Singer (X-Men, X-Men 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse). (7.5/10)

This movie is somewhat expected. They didn't quite NAIL it but they were close.Nicholas Hoult played the character of Jack reasonably well whilst still letting the "Nicholas Hoult-ness" show through. The subdued yet surprised looks and scarce bursts of energy.The CG in this movie is fairly decent. Definitely pulls you into the world of not only the Human part of the world but also the world of the Giants.There is one key feature from the original story that is left out, I'll leave that to you to find out what it is.All in all, strong characters, decent story, great actors and a very fun and enjoyable movie to watch. Pop it on; tune out to the world and get sucked in.They falter with a few missed opportunities but still stay somewhat true to the story. FE FI FO FUM!

A modern reinvention of the famous fairytale, the 2013 version of Jack and the Beanstalk is what you'd expect: a young peasant boy gets wrapped into an adventure with knights who must rescue a princess snatched by the suddenly growing stalk, and then abducted by giants.Ultimately just sort of'there', Bryan Singer's fantasy adventure just feels like an exercise in studio 'box ticking' without much gusto or spark. This is thanks to a lot of unfinished CGI effects (a cinematic detailing the origin of the human/giant conflict trying to go for a 'woodcut' aesthetic but instead looking more like those glossy PS1 cutscenes with stretched textures and 'shine') and extreme'been there, done that' writing that won't do much for older viewers (and it doesn't have its tongue in cheek often enough to compensate). It gives us the most basic 'underdog saves princess and stops ancient evil from destroying land' plot in a while and again, not in a charming 'throwback' or self aware way like say Indiana Jones or Pirates of the Caribbean pulled off. However, its charismatic and talented cast do try, with Stanley Tucci being enjoyably hammy and slimy as a Jafar-esque adviser while veteran Ian McShane is imposing as the old King. Singer regular and Composer John Ottman provides a suitably bold and bombastic orchestral score ala classic John Williams that adds a greater sense of wonder and awe than the film itself allows at times. Plus the action, in spite of the passable effects, still has some neat moments of invention, like the giants using windmills as throwing blades, sending entire battalions of knights flying, and the giants themselves are suitably grotesque. However though, this does lead to the obvious jokes (seriously, take a guess as to what kind of broad, pandering comedy a bunch of filthy monsters are going to have in a family-aimed film).In the end, 'Slayer' is just safe, a film that ticks boxes and gets from A to B. It's perfectly passable family entertainment, and the kids will probably get into the giants and action, but unless you need a quick fantasy fix, go elsewhere.