Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)
Let me spoil you right now by asking...
WHERE WAS THE DAMN GOOSE?!
For those familiar with the original fairytales, Jack the Giant Killer and Jack in the Beanstalk, you'd know that the goose (and golden egg) had a rather big role in Jack's success. In this movie, there was a golden egg but no goose. I was waiting the whole movie for that bird but even the golden egg was just an afterthought, if at all. DX
Anyway, I enjoyed the movie. It was an adventure. I don't think it's kid-appropriate though haha. Stick with the fairytales, kids. This shows gore, blood, and chopped off heads... all that good stuff. ;-) The visuals are amazing. It definitely had that storybook look, that fantasy feel and I loved that. The acting was a bit off but the visuals made it tolerable. But I mean, what do you expect from a fantasy film, right? It wasn't coming across as parody acting but it wasn't the best performance from any of these actors.
Ian McShane (King Brahmwell) is always a joy to watch. I loved him in The Pillars of the Earth and he was great here too. I love Ewan McGregor (Elmont) so we don't have to dwell much on him haha. He looks so hot in any role. It's always a surprise to see Stanley Tucci (Lord Roderick) in a movie. You'll never know what side of him will be on screen. Compare his characters in The Hunger Games, Captain America: The First Avenger, and in this movie. Such a range! Now, the leads are Nicholas Hoult (Jack) and Eleanor Tomlinson (Isabelle) were okay. Nicholas Hoult was so distracting because he is so good-looking! And he never got dirty after everything he went through. Sort of like in King Kong where Naomi Watts rolled through dirt and mud and grass but she stayed white and clean. Srsly? Eleanor Tomlinson reminds me of Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark, Game of Thrones). It doesn't take much acting to look (and portray) a princess so I can't say much about her. She's pretty. But I prefer Sansa a bit more.
(Speaking of Sansa, GAME OF THRONES... MARCH 31!)
The movie doesn't necessarily follow the source fairytales but you can definitely see familiar elements such as "Fi, fie, foe, fum" and the chopping down of the beanstalk. Jack does pick up a golden bejeweled egg but we don't see it again until the very end of the movie. And once again, where was the goose? I cannot get over that.
Overall, this is one of the better fairytale movies, at least for me. Over the past months, we've had Hansel & Gretel, Red Riding Hood, and a couple of Snow Whites. Apart from Hansel & Gretel, I didn't like any of those. I enjoyed Jack the Giant Slayer. If you loved the fairytale, you will like this one too.
... if you don't mind the goose all that much. ;-)
