Jack The Giant Slayer

When films are delayed or have a bad production history one can’t help but expect the worst when they finally arrive, especially when their release follows a stream of trailers seemingly offering nothing tantalising or original this side of Harry Potter or Lord Of The Rings (Warner’s other recent behemoth franchises). But Jack The Giant Slayer, which was originally scheduled for a summer 2012 slot, has Bryan Singer at the helm: the director of The Usual Suspects, X Men, Apt Pupil and the underrated Superman Returns, which ignites more than a glimmer of hope. So with that in mind and for what its worth, Jack The Giant Slayer is a minor triumph.

Farm boy Jack is a rugged orphan tasked by his uncle to sell the family horse to help raise funds for their dilapidated home. At the local town fair, Jack gets entangled in a kafuffle with some local scallywags harassing a young maiden, who just happens to be a princess in hiding. And we all know the rest of the set up: Jack gets done by a shifty monk, swaps his horse for a pile of beans (as collateral for the horse) and accidentally plants the mother of all beanstalks that blasts from beneath the family home sending the shack, but not Jack, and an unexpected princess sky high to a land in the clouds overrun with CG giants.

It’s stuff we’ve seen a thousand times in various incarnations, and in the shadow of Lord Of The Rings, whose style it can’t help but emulate, Singer’s film pales in comparison. Instead of the grandiose epic of Tolkien’s screen adaptations, JTGS is a frothier affair; a frivolous fantasy adventure with a chaotic second half and a jovial tone which makes it on the whole a more pleasurable viewing experience than The Hobbit, but with a lesser production value. Despite the squiffy CGI, and two dimensional characters, JTGS boasts some brilliantly directed action set pieces that weave nicely into the fantastically paced and engrossing narrative without seeming awkwardly crow-barred.

Nicholas Hoult swaps his private school mannerisms for a cockney twang in a fine turn as the mucky Jack, accompanied by a king’s army consisting of the gnarly Eddie Marsan, a slimy Stanley Tucci and a spiffing Ewan McGregor, channelling the ghost of Errol Flynn. The supporting cast have fun with the hokey dialogue and costumes, especially MacGregor, building a cracking rapport with each other and the material. This makes the second half of the film even more enjoyable when compared with the sluggish first act, as the crew ascend the beanstalk to rescue the princess encountering all manner of perilous activity with the flesh hungry giants.

On the whole, Jack The Giant Slayer is a frenetic, highly entertaining fantasy adventure with tongue in cheek, pantomime characters and a dawdling set up. But brilliantly directed action sequences and a rip-roaring final act make it a vibrant, good old fashioned feeling family film with heaps of heart. Even though it is probably Singer’s worse film, the first forty minutes is by the numbers, JTGS is high calibre hokum and should prove an entertaining enough crowd pleaser and a great treat for all the family. And if you bite your lip and lower your expectations you might even be amazed.

Jack The Giant Slayer is released on 22nd March