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.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.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.
- Awards
- 1 win & 4 nominations total
Featured reviews
Unlike many of Hollywood's reimaginings of fairy tales, this film is actually decent. One can let children watch this in the same manner our grandparents were reading the original stories. It has morals, it is pretty, actors play well and, most of all, it is not condescendingly stupid. Instead, one can actually enjoy this on almost all levels.
It was funny to see actors Ewan McGregor and Ewen Bremner play in a film together again (Rents and Spud), but they had no real interaction. Nicholas Hoult was OK as the hero of the story and Stanley Tucci, as usual, a great villain. The one that was rather disappointing was the princess, clearly a role that was not really thought out much more than "cute damsel in distress, ready for the rescue". Her father wasn't much either, but at least he had lines. Also, for a movie "made in USA" a great many English actors. Even the story was set in England, as we see in the end.
Bottom line: while not the best movie ever, it was certainly an entertaining blockbuster that retained a lot of the feel and plot of the original fairy tale. It also manages to have an insane body count without actually showing any blood. The US rating system is idiotic for sure. Anyway, the movie was fun. I can recommend it for an easy watch.
It was funny to see actors Ewan McGregor and Ewen Bremner play in a film together again (Rents and Spud), but they had no real interaction. Nicholas Hoult was OK as the hero of the story and Stanley Tucci, as usual, a great villain. The one that was rather disappointing was the princess, clearly a role that was not really thought out much more than "cute damsel in distress, ready for the rescue". Her father wasn't much either, but at least he had lines. Also, for a movie "made in USA" a great many English actors. Even the story was set in England, as we see in the end.
Bottom line: while not the best movie ever, it was certainly an entertaining blockbuster that retained a lot of the feel and plot of the original fairy tale. It also manages to have an insane body count without actually showing any blood. The US rating system is idiotic for sure. Anyway, the movie was fun. I can recommend it for an easy watch.
This film tells the story of a farm boy who battles giants from the sky valiantly, alongside brave soldiers and the princess of the kingdom.
I put off watching "Jack the Giant Slayer" because the giants are really ugly! During the film, I kept having sweaty palms because of the scenes involving heights. Those scenes were really scary. I liked the lead character Jack, because he is approachable boy next door. It is a refreshing tale to see him rising through the ranks and valiantly serve his country. The interweaving story telling scenes in the beginning annoyed me a little, because I thought it was a bit too forced. Overall, I like "Jack the Giant Slayer", because of the poignant ending.
I put off watching "Jack the Giant Slayer" because the giants are really ugly! During the film, I kept having sweaty palms because of the scenes involving heights. Those scenes were really scary. I liked the lead character Jack, because he is approachable boy next door. It is a refreshing tale to see him rising through the ranks and valiantly serve his country. The interweaving story telling scenes in the beginning annoyed me a little, because I thought it was a bit too forced. Overall, I like "Jack the Giant Slayer", because of the poignant ending.
As I left the theater after watching this movie I tried to put my finger on the reason why I felt so underwhelmed by what I had just watched. Perhaps it was the overly simplistic video game plot (save the princess), the lack of a well defined villain, or the lackluster development of any of the characters. In the end I couldn't precisely point to any single issue that derailed my ability to really enjoy this viewing. What this movie really lacked was the ability to engage the audience on any meaningful level whether it be emotional, mental or otherwise. In short, it's soulless. I don't know exactly what gives a movie its soul but I know when it's missing and this movie, unfortunately, was quite lacking.
Or – A new take on Jack and the beanstalk. "Jack the giant slayer" takes a classic tale and breaths new life into it. So many try and fail at this, but this flick moderately succeeds. Despite a troubled production.
Film sees Jack. A young farmers son, sell his horse for some magic beans, which end up growing into a massive beanstalk. This beanstalk leads too a legendary land in the clouds, where the promised giants off the title roam. Sounds familiar? That's because it is. But its been delved into further, with more characters, some extra imagination, and many action set pieces thrown in, to make it a damn good feature length family movie.
Its not perfect. For everyone loving the fact its action packed, there will be those who find it seriously over heavy on the cartoony CGI. There are some cheesy moments, and some bad gags. But these are not overwhelming, in a film that is over all good fun.
Film sees Jack. A young farmers son, sell his horse for some magic beans, which end up growing into a massive beanstalk. This beanstalk leads too a legendary land in the clouds, where the promised giants off the title roam. Sounds familiar? That's because it is. But its been delved into further, with more characters, some extra imagination, and many action set pieces thrown in, to make it a damn good feature length family movie.
Its not perfect. For everyone loving the fact its action packed, there will be those who find it seriously over heavy on the cartoony CGI. There are some cheesy moments, and some bad gags. But these are not overwhelming, in a film that is over all good fun.
I wasn't blown away by this flick, but I did enjoy it. And I also enjoyed...
1. No potty humor 2. No overt sexuality 3. No inappropriate language 4. No seemingly random 3D FX 5. No politically correct messages or characters 6. No strutting egotism
In short, it's not a Follywood movie and you can actually let your kids watch it without worrying too much. There is some violence, but...
The script is well written, the acting is better than good, and it moves along at a pretty lively pace. Not a classic, but good. It might have been better a little shorter, but that can be said of most movies these days.
I was surprised to hear so many complaints.
1. No potty humor 2. No overt sexuality 3. No inappropriate language 4. No seemingly random 3D FX 5. No politically correct messages or characters 6. No strutting egotism
In short, it's not a Follywood movie and you can actually let your kids watch it without worrying too much. There is some violence, but...
The script is well written, the acting is better than good, and it moves along at a pretty lively pace. Not a classic, but good. It might have been better a little shorter, but that can be said of most movies these days.
I was surprised to hear so many complaints.
Did you know
- TriviaStanley Tucci, the only non-British cast member, adopted a British accent to fit in. He said he had long wanted to perform with a British accent, and this film gave him the chance to do so.
- GoofsNear the end when the two headed giant swallows the bean and is torn apart; his hand lands next to Jack. The crown on two fingers of the giant, is bigger than Jack's waist, let alone his head.
- Crazy creditsThe Bad Hat Harry logo contains silhouettes of giants, who are first seen from a human point-of-view (their feet are seen stomping around) before they seen in their entirety.
- Alternate versionsGerman version was cut for violence (Fallon getting hit by arrows in the face and burning) to secure a "Not under 12" rating.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Bad Movie Beatdown: Review of 2012 (2013)
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Jack el cazagigantes
- Filming locations
- Bourne Wood, Farnham, Surrey, England, UK(on location)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $195,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $65,187,603
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $27,202,226
- Mar 3, 2013
- Gross worldwide
- $197,687,603
- Runtime
- 1h 54m(114 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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