Jack the Giant Slayer

There's a REALLY strange glut of fantasy movies that are coming out. I don't really understand it. For some reason, America is fascinated with updated or re -envisioned versions of modern myths or classic fairy tales. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Warm Bodies, and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. Who know's what's coming next? Jack and Jill: The Mount Everest Story. Three Blind Mice: Cheese Heist. Humpty Dumpty: Retaliation.

But what is the appeal of all of these movies? It's simple - the fact that there is a twist. Abraham Lincoln, our nations greatest President, fighting vampires, a zombie falling in love with a human, two fairy tale characters becoming sex icons and killing witches. And that is this movie's fatal flaw - there is no twist. Certainly, there is a little bit of style. But this is exactly what I would picture a movie about Jack and the Beanstalk to be. It's got good, not great, special effects, and a nice sense of adventure in scaling the beanstalk, and likable enough characters, but no twist on the classic story.

It's true to say there is a bit more violence than one would anticipate, but this is also the worst part. There's no blood, at all. I get that it was to keep it relatively kid friendly, but to see bodies having fallen presumably miles to the ground and not see a bloody pulp of nothing is unrealistic. And to see bodies bitten in half with no blood to speak of is also quite silly. And moreso, just because there's no blood doesn't make it really that much less scarring to watch a giant eat the top half of someone.

But all of that being said, I did like Jack and the Giant Slayer for two reasons. Reason one is Nicholas Hoult. If there's one thing that Mr. Hoult is proving to me, it is that no matter how bad or simple a movie he signs on to, the scenes with him will at least be very likable. He's charming, funny, vulnerable but brave, and he keeps me invested whenever he is on screen. I can't wait to see where else his career takes him, considering his last two movies were very strange choices in my mind. But I know anything he does, at least from his last two awkward choices, that he will make them somewhat enjoyable.

The second reasons is Ewan McGreggor. At first, trailers suggested that he was going to be quirky in a forced, stupid way. Or that he was going to be a throwaway character. Neither happen - he actually turns into the character I saw myself cheering for the most, and hoping to see become victorious. In fact, I'd say I supported him more than I supported Jack.

All in all, however, this movie lacked style and creativity. Things felt generic, phoned in, and simple. The story is obvious, the music is obvious, the sets and CGI are all pretty by the books and what you'd expect. So it wasn't bad, but there's hints of how much more this movie could have actually been. That's the worst for a movie goer.

RANK: 2/5