I Kill Giants

A very touching movie that reveals itself in the end

I Kill Giants is another one of those films that goes compeletely unacknowledged, probably not aided by a ridiculous and childish title.

Considering the filmmakers fully embraced the fact this would not be a huge hit and consined a small budget remarkable CGI has to be the greatest standout of the movie, even on close up shots on the giants the effects are intricate and extremely well crafted, proving millions of dollars are not nessersary to produce good results.

The tone of the film is also pretty solid however, the story does not fully embrace itself, the whole mystical and mythical elements of the story seriously lack at times subsequently weakening the scenes which do include these elements as they feel inadequately set up and utilised.

Considering this produced by one of the producers/directors of Harry Potter you'd certainly expect more on this front.

What this film does utilise is the brilliant cast. The film is led a remarkable amount by Madison Wolfe. A powerhouse performance on her part. Zoe Saldana can go unnoticed, different to many of her most recent roles, but proves herself a more than capable outside of blockbusters. Maybe she should focus on doing smaller roles like this more than big, flashy sci-fi films, she really is great here.

It is not the special effects, although interesting and visually not exceptional but discrete, it is not the extremely suggestive and curated cinematography, as well as original and effective, it is not the directing, intelligent and well studied; in short, it is not the technical sector, however remarkable, that makes this "I Kill Giants" a great movie, but it is something more, something that is more in depth, are the true and sincere feelings that are perceived for a good part of the movie and that make it special despite being almost a genre movie. A movie that proves itself surprisingly mature, even if its appearance says the opposite, and aware of the path and the goals it wants to achieve; this is felt in different scenes that, for this, effect and in different dialogues taken from a screenplay that is not original but that can raise many questions to the viewer during the film, doing so, even if they do not always receive a gratifying answer, this last will be completely immersed in the atmosphere and spirit of the story and can only be involved in it. Also you can very easily get in tune with the protagonist, a young girl who stands out from the many who have already seen in many other films similar to this, thanks to its unique character that makes the character curious and bizarre and, important and rare thing, never predictable, this means that the viewer never loses interest in it. For the rest what to say, there is Zoe Saldana, good as usual, and a really good Imogen Poots, thanks to a role in which she identified herself perfectly. Unfortunately, the film was, nonetheless, anticipated by a marketing campaign that between trailer and poster deceives the public, presenting it as a film that is not, for this reason will be many who, waiting for a pure fantasy, will remain a bit 'disappointed.

I felt the need to write a review as the ones I have seen are incredibly harsh. This movie is a beautiful parable of a young girls struggle in dealing with the realities of her life told through her avoidance and diving into her vivid imagination and courage of spirit. While I havent seen the trailer all I can say is if you are looking for a Pacific Rim poorly scripted CGI sensory onslaught keep looking, but if you are open to a beautiful heart warming story of fantasy and adventure more akin to The Enchanted Story then this movie is bound to put a smile on your face and will become a staple for kids dealing with sickness and loss. Wonderful to see and deserving of much higher ratings if expectations arent in the action adventure arena.

I Kill Giants (2017) is a movie that I recently watched with my daughter on Tubi. The storyline follows a young lady who dresses and behaves her own way. It leads to her family, classmates and teachers struggling to understand her. Meanwhile, she believes she mixes potions and keeps the world safe from giants in the woods around her hometown. When she makes a new friend, she tries to teach her, her ways. It becomes apparent the young lady does indeed have giants to conquer.

This movie is directed by Anders Walter in his directorial debut and stars Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy), Madison Wolfe (The Conjuring 2), Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later), Sydney Wade (360) and Jennifer Ehle (A Quiet Place).

There's a lot to like about this movie. The characters are very unique, especially the main character. The acting by Wolfe is very good. The special effects to create the monsters are outstanding and very well done. The settings are also well selected, and I enjoyed the cinematography and depiction of the town. The dialogue throughout the movie was very good, surprising at times, but well written. The ending is a bit cliche, predictable but concludes the film well.

Overall, this is an above average addition to the family drama genre. I would score this a 6-6.5/10.