JACK THE GIANT-SLAYER

Jack the Giant-Slayer (2013)
Grade: B-
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Ewan Bremner, Eddie Marsan and Bill Nighy
Premise: When a down-on-his-luck farmboy opens a portal between his world and the mythical elevated world of the Giants, and a princess is suddenly taken captive, the young man journeys into dangerous territory to rescue her from the monsters.

Rated PG-13 for action violence and some gory images

I'm feeling a little let down by Jack the Giant-Slayer. Like 2010's Alice in Wonderland and last year's Mirror Mirror and Snow White & the Huntsman, it's supposed to be a broader-scale, more epic version of a beloved fairy tale, but it falls far short of the edginess suggested by that rather badass title. Squeaky-clean leading man Nicholas Hoult won't be mistaken by anybody as a hard-edged vigilante (this isn't Jack The Giant Punisher), and the familiar "Jack and the Beanstalk" fairy tale is here adapted in a tidier manner more akin to Mirror Mirror, or even 2010's Tangled, than the dark, gothic-horror-embellished pizzazz of The Huntsman. Mostly pretty conventional plot-wise, Jack does manage to gain some credibility with a third act crammed with eye-popping action. Ultimately, it's a mildly-diverting popcorn flick that will give girls plenty of time to oogle Flavor-of-the-Month hearthrob Hoult.

The basic story's pretty simple, and almost everyone knows its most basic plot points. Jack (Hoult, hyper-popular right now after the success of his zombie flick Warm Bodies) is a poor farmhand who eventually comes to the realization that he must sell his beloved horse to get by. On a trip into the kingdom of Cloister, he is able to sell the horse, though admittedly only to a monk who pays him with a handful of beans, which are supposedly "magical". By chance he encounters Cloister's lovely princess, Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson), a motherless, adventure-seeking girl dreading her impending marriage to the stuffy, power-mad nobleman Roderick (Stanley Tucci). While Jack and the princess discover they might actually have some things in common despite their different places in life, their lives are put on hold when the beans Jack was paid with erupt into an enormous beanstalk, which carries the princess high into the sky, beyond the clouds, to a kingdom of giants believed to exist only in myth. Immediately, Isabelle's father (Ian McShane) assembles a team to rescue his daughter, led by stalwart knight Elmont (Ewan McGregor). Taking Jack along, the team scales the beanstalk, encounters the giants, and finds the princess, but they soon discover that Roderick holds an ancient key to controlling the giants, and he has his sights set on Isabelle's father's throne. Soon Jack and Isabelle are trying to descend the beanstalk quickly enough to warn Cloister of Roderick's plot to pit the whole giant populace against it.

Jack hits the ground running, sending Jack into Cloister to sell his horse within the first ten minutes, after a brief prologue in which the young Jack and Isabelle are separately read the story of the giants' war with humans (they thought it was just a story). And it wastes little time from there, probably a result of Singer assuming people attending a movie called Jack the Giant-Slayer want to see some giant-slaying. Thus, the characterizations are basic, the sentiments few, and the budding romance between Jack and Isabelle has a cute moment or two but is actually rather shrugged off. This comes as no great detriment, though, as this movie, at 114 minutes, is a little too long as is, without any expansion.

If they wanted to cut something, though, they could always cut most of the Roderick subplot, which embarrasses the always-game Stanley Tucci with one of those frothing-at-the-mouth cartoonish villain roles. Even more embarrassed is Ewan Bremner as his goofy, jester-like sidekick. The rest of the cast (Hoult, Tomlinson, McGregor, McShane) thankfully get less ridiculous parts but are still a long way from three-dimensionality. Each of these characters is a cookie cutter type (the brave young hero, the damsel in distress, the noble knight, the grave king) who's fallen straight out of the pages of a children's book.

But the movie succeeds where it needs to. The scene where the beanstalk erupts out of the ground and through the floor of Jack's cottage is kind of awesome, and the last act--in which the computer-generated giants reach the ground and begin an assault on Cloister--hits a few notes that are flat-out spectacular. And while the obviously CGI giants are a little distracting, they're nonetheless acceptable as dangerous antagonists (and it's always worth hearing Bill Nighy's Irish brogue, even if it's from the maw of a grotesque, two-headed giant).

Largely family friendly but for a few intense action scenes, Jack the Giant-Slayer has the feel of one of those movies that entertains in the moment but will be quickly forgotten (I'm really interested to see the business it does at the box office this weekend). **I saw it in 3-D, which enhances a scene or two, but (as per the extra dimension's usual) is unnecessary.**  It's an uber-safe vehicle for Hoult (now that he's reached bonafide leading man status), and McShane, McGregor and Tucci are all deserving of better, but something tells me it could be a popular rental.

Bottom Line (I Promise): Jack the Giant-Slayer isn't quite the epic spectacle its tough title indicates, but some impressive visuals, engaging action, and a brisk plot make this a servicable popcorn flick.

Jack the Giant-Slayer (2013)
Directed by Bryan Singer
Written by Darren Lemke, Christopher McQuarrie, and Dan Studney; based on the story by Darren Lemke and David Dobkin
Rated PG-13
Length: 114 minutes