Review of Jack the Giant Slayer (2013) by Tino P — 07 Mar 2014

Prepare for a giant adventure.

Good Fun Movie! "Jack The Giant Slayer" will reasonably divide critics and audiences, but if I had kids, I would have no problem taking them to see this. It's a fun little adventure that kids and open-minded adults will get a kick out of. It was refreshing to find a non ironic, non meta straightforward telling of this story, with some elements of charm and humor. The script is well written, the acting is better than good, and it moves along at a pretty lively pace. Not a classic, but good. It might have been better a little shorter, but that can be said of most movies these days.

Sent to the market by his uncle to sell their horse and buy thatch for their roof, Jack meets the beautiful Princess Isabelle whom he rescues her from ruffians. He returns home only with a handful of beans given to him by a monk who claimed they were sacred but that does little to impress his uncle who tosses them away. In the night the Princess arrives having run off to keep from marrying Roderick who is clearly only interested in becoming king. Soon the beans take root with a giant stalk carrying away the princess and Jack's house. He soon sets off on an adventure with the king's guards to rescue the princess only to find that a mythical land filled with giants really exists.