Jack the Giant Slayer (1 Viewer)

[larso]

Well this is no Lord of the Rings but it was pretty good fun. Aside from the magic beans there is not much that is similar to the fairy-tale, which is good in that the film is reasonably original in how it develops the story. Jack is a farm boy (though you wouldn't know it from his hands!) who finds himself on a rescue mission to save the princess and then the world. The lead actor looks a bit too much like Ashton Kutcher but the giants are quite interesting and Ewan McGregor is allowed to have a lot of fun. I thought the special effects were good and the battle scenes entertaining. Much of the dialogue is a bit twee and there's predictable co-incidences but happily a few reasonable twists too. There's a gruesome moment or two as well, so it's not for small kids but teens or toy soldier collectors will probably have a pleasant time over it.

 

[villagehorse]

Agree with all your comments, quite liked it, but I cannot remember most of it, so that for me is an indication I will not be following up with DVD. Robin.

 

[Jack]

It is a decent flick and represents a couple of hours of escapist entertainment. It is highly derivative and not just because of its links to the fairy tales, but because it follows the standard boy gets girl, boy loses girl and boy gets girl back formula. The movie has been received rather poorly, not because it is awful but I suspect beacause of the confusion over what audience it is seeking to attract. It is a fairy tale, romcom with some death and mayhem thrown in. It also suffers from the fact that anything with even a touch of fantasy is measured against LOTR. Even Jackson in 'The Hobbit' failed to compete against himself on that score.

I will say this in as manly a fashion as possible, but don't you just love Ewan McGregor!{sm3}