This Sunday, my 15 year-old son celebrated his birthday and on the top of his B-Day list was going to the movies with his 11 year old bro to see the fantasy adventure story Jack The Giant Slayer. The trailers and posters promised it would be an incredible adaptation of a well known fairy tale with modern VFXs to make it spectacular (Jack the Giant Killer, Jack and the Beanstalk). We all left the theatre utterly disappointed. This adaptation of the beloved, trans generational story completely missed the mark. A thin storyline and poorly developed script lay at the heart of the problem. It was very impersonal; there was poor character development that never allowed the viewer to fully engage and root for the good guys or against the bad guys. And although it had the potential to be amazing, the violence is so graphic it is certainly NOT for young viewers! In fact it is hard to pinpoint the audience its meant to appeal to. It was not a matter of misfiring on timing of the release of this movie that has lead to a poor box office start – this one is just a stinker.

Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers

Director Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men) did not pull it off. His fairy tale adaptation starring Nicolas Hoult (Jack), Stanley Tucci (Roderick), Eleanor Tomlinson (Princess Isabelle) and Ewan McGregor (Elmont) promised an incredible story of giants, battles, princesses and heroism set against a familiar backdrop of the magic beanstalk. Jack, a farm boy must face innumerable challenges in his attempts to rescue Princess Isabelle who has been captured by horrid, canabalistic giants. To make matters worse they live on a floating land called Gantua, situated halfway between heaven and earth.

Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers

Unfortunately the director chose to leave this fairy tale-inspired film stuck between two extremes: it is far too scary for very young children (humans being stomped and eaten isn’t exactly the stuff of sweet dreams) and yet too silly for most older moviegoers. The main cast delivers a flat performance, Hoult and Tomlinson unable to generate any on screen chemistry. The best parts of the film are the VFX. The computer generated imagery and characters are masterful. There are many special effects, including giant beanstalks, giant battle scenes and the personalized giants themselves. The two-headed giant General Fallon takes the Oscar in this one.

Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers

This ‘Jack’ is the worst of Hollywood’s latest obsession with updated children’s fairy tales (Alice in Wonderland (2010), Red Riding Hood (2011), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012). Hopefully OZ the Great and Powerful  (March 8^th) will end this downward spiral of disappointing screen adaptations of the dearly beloved children’s fairy tales that we have all grown up with.

-Christophe Chanel