Aylmer to Zazzoo and Beyond: Jack The Giant Slayer

Monday, March 4, 2013

Jack The Giant Slayer - Review

Jack the Giant Slayer
(2013 - March 1)
Adventure | Drama | Fantasy
1 hr. 54 min.

Rated: PG-13 Fantasy violence eased by humor in tween-friendly adventure. What parents should know.
Grade: B

Director: Bryan Singer
Writers: Darren Lemke (screenplay), Christopher McQuarrie (screenplay), Dan Studney (screenplay), Darren Lemke (story), David Dobkin (story)
Stars: Nicholas Hoult, Stanley Tucci, Ewan McGregor | See full cast and crew

Jack the Giant Slayer tells the story of an ancient war that is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack, into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend—and gets the chance to become a legend himself.

Fee. Fye. Ho. Hum. Ask not whence the writing comes. Jack The Giant Slayer isn't awful the problem is it isn't great either. It's all about the CGI effects and not so much on the story. Very much like the slew of action films that are all about the car chases and explosions but very short on character development and storyline. So much promise yet so much of it left unfulfilled.

The film employs plenty of acting talent but doesn't give them too much of a chance to act. To be honest, Nicholas Hoult is much more engaging as a zombie (Warm Bodies) than he is as Jack, and the reason for that is the writing. When I first saw the previews, some time ago, I thought that this looks like it could be a great family film, a classic, and I was eager to see it but feared it was going to be a disappointment. I was right about this film (incidentally that is the same feeling I get about the upcoming Oz, The Great and Powerful). Jack The Giant Slayer is a spectacle that never seems to overwhelm. That said, I will give it props for choosing the high ground and making a film that the family can see together.

There isn't any grievous profanity, Jack and the princess don't get all sexy and engage in anything that the youngest children shouldn't see. Villains in this feudal world are clearly differentiated from the noble people (regardless of their social status and that includes the commoner farmboy Jack).

I had heard some critics say that the 3D version was incredible and worth the premium ticket price, however, I was not very impressed. I really don't think it adds all that much.

Everyone knows the line from the fairy tale, "Fee. Fye. Foe. Fumm. I sell the blood of an Englishman." so what was the great need to change that to "Fee. Fye. Foe. Fumm. Ask not whence the thunder comes."? The writers and director were very loosey goosey with the Jack and the Beanstalk fairy tale. That's OK, especially if you can make it better, but the problem is that it usually isn't. A perfect example is the recent Hansel And Gretel. The fairy tales have been around for a long time and the 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' rule applies to most of them.

Principal photography began on April 12, 2011 in the British countryside. In May 2011, production moved to Somerset, England for two weeks with filming scheduled in Wells, Cheddar and secret locations in the county including scenes filmed at Wells Cathedral. Also in May, scenes were shot at Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean near Coleford, Gloucestershire. Puzzlewood, which features unusual tree and rock formations has previously been used for filming of the BBC TV series Doctor Who and Merlin. The same forest is said to have inspired J. R. R. Tolkien to write The Hobbit. Later in the same month, filming took place at Norwich Cathedral in Norwich, Norfolk.

A human figure fighting off a dragon, cloister ceiling detail

About the performance-capture process Singer stated, "It's fascinating... It takes you back to play-acting as a kid in your living room because you are running around and having to imagine that you are in Gantua and imagine that there are these weapons and all these giant things. But there's nothing when you are there other than styrofoam and blocks. It forces the actors to regress to when they would play-act as kids or do minimalist theatre. But in that way it's fascinating - I can see why Robert Zemeckis and James Cameron have started to shoot pictures this way

The film as been a long time in the making. Below is development timeline (via Wikipedia).

In January 2009, New Line Cinema hired D. J. Caruso to direct Jack the Giant Killer, which is described as an adult look at the "Jack and the Beanstalk" legend. The script was written by Darren Lemke and subsequently rewritten by Mark Bomback. Lemke described the script as depicting "a male-oriented story of a boy becoming a man" and drew a parallel between Jack and Luke Skywalker of Star Wars. By August 2009 it was reported that Bryan Singer might be replacing Caruso and became official in September 2009.

In April 2010, Singer re-teamed with screenwriter, Christopher McQuarrie to rework the screenplay. Singer and McQuarrie have previously collaborated on Public Access, The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil and Valkyrie. Singer stated, "Chris McQuarrie did a significant re-write for me. He brought a different structure. It was very much a page-one situation; a different storyline. It involved the same characters, but some we juggled around and switched around. He just brought a very different perspective".

In May 2010 it was reported that production of the film would be delayed until February 2011. The report cited Singer's interest in being able to pre-visualize scenes with the digital giants in-camera with the live-action actors (a laJames Cameron's Avatar) and the need for more time to work out the complex process as reasons for the delay.

Director Bryan Singer at work behind the scenes

It’s a very traditional fairytale, probably the most traditional thing I’ve ever done. But it’ll also be a fun twist on the notion of how these tales are told... Fairytales are often borne of socio-political commentary and translated into stories for children. But what if they were based on something that really happened?.. What if we look back at the story that inspired the story that you read to your kids? That’s kind of what this movie’s about.