I went to see this with my friend B today at the L/B Odeon and I quite enjoyed this fantasy with more than a little nod to the fairytale.
IMDB states that the plot is '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,' but for me, it is essentially the story arc of Jack and the Beanstalk.
Nicholas Hoult (About a Boy, Warm Bodies) stars as Jack, a very down-to-earth hero, whose series of well-intentioned blunders leads to his Kingdom being joined once again to the Giants. Charged with helping to rescue the Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson of Angus, Thongs and Perfect snogging, Alice in Wonderland) from the lair of the giants along with the King's best men, including Elmont (Ewan McGregor of Star Wars, Trainspotting) and her intended, Roderick (a cunning baddie played by Stanley Tucci - The Hunger Games, The Devil Wears Prada) who has dastardly plans of his own.
King Brahmwell is played by Ian McShane (Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides, Snow White and the Huntsman), but I was distracted by him in his gold armour (too much like Lord Farquaad in Shrek!) and there is a stereotypical cameo performance from Warwick Davis (Star Wars, Harry Potter) but for me, the actor who best nails his role is Eddie Marsan (Sherlock Holmes, Hancock) who plays Crawe.
The head of the CGI giants is General Fallon (a strangely Irish Bill Nighy - Love Actually, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) but disappointingly, Director Bryan Singer has tamed the gore in deft cuts away at the last minute. I know this is a 12A but the giants could have been made far more menacing.
Tagline: 'Prepare for a giant adventure.' 6/10 #JackTheGiantSlayer
Seeing humans go against giants is something that's almost always fun in movies and this movie isn't an exception. Solid review Karen.
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