Jack le chasseur de géants

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.

I just saw this at a special screening and since I'm wring reviews more often, I thought it'd be perfect to share my thoughts on this one. 'Jack the Giant Slayer' is basically just a retelling of Jack and the Giant Beanstalk, with some twists. Think of it kind of like the recent Kristin Stewart film, 'Snow White and the Huntsman'. Except, maybe this one is geared more towards the gentlemen of the crowd, where the former was the opposite. This film is as epic as 'Lord of the Rings', and if you like that kind of thing, you should enjoy this one.

I won't give away anything about the plot but you should already know the idea of what it is. There is not just one giant in this film, there are many, and there are plenty of action sequences to keep you engrossed. Nicholas Hoult plays the lead, and he holds the role well. He can also be seen in 'Warm Bodies'. Bryan Singer directs, and we all know he's responsible for 'X-Men'. Lets just say, the apple doesn't fall far from the beanstalk! I will for sure see this epic fantasy adventure again.

If you've ever played the classic PlayStation One game 'Legend of Dragoon', you'll notice a little resemblance in the war between humans and giants (gigantos in that game). Like I said in my last review- sit back and enjoy the ride, because thats what it's meant to be: not a deep thinking film.

If you think Bryan Singer is incapable of making anything decent after 'Superman Returns', think again- because you don't know jack!

Jack the Giant Slayer is a hit and miss for the majority of this film it provides all the classic clichés and parts that we would see in a well known children's fairytale and it provides a fair bit of the usual good special effects and action sequences but outside that there isn't that much good about it

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.

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.