Only two of us went to go see this one this weekend but we may be able to add the last review at a later date. So first off...
Barbara says:
If you are a purist about your fairy tales then Jack The Giant Slayer is not the movie for you. But if you like them turned on their heads then go see this one. I like the new twist given the stories we grew up with being told over and over again in always the same way. I would say children 8 and up could see it if they have out learned fact from fiction because the giants can be rather scary at times. But the scenes where people are eaten were done quite well and there were no battle scenes that were gory. So out of 10 I give it an 8 as it was very entertaining and amusing even for adults. While available in 3D it's not necessary for this film to be enjoying and may not actually add much to the film.
Cat says:
There have been many "fairy tale" movies that have come out over the past two years. And, in my opinion, each has missed the mark...some barely and some by a mile. When I first saw the trailers for this one I thought...hmmmm, maybe they finally got it right. Now after seeing the film I can tell you they did, indeed, finally get it right.
The main hero, Jack, is played by the same guy who was so great in Warm Bodies, Nicholas Hoult, which we got to see last month. He's just as great here. The brief build up, how he and the Princess, Elinor Tomlinson, are both brought up with the fairy tale of the Giants and the magic beans takes a brief turn when they add a few new elements to the tale. Accidents happen, a stalk is planted and the adventure begins.
There is a bad guy played by Stanley Tucci, who is one of my favorite actors. He plays his part with evil humor that is a lot of fun. There are gross and, yes, gigantic Giants. The leader of the Giants should sound very familiar to those who loved Davy Jones in the Pirates movies. Ewan McGregor fills out the cast as the main guardian of the Princess who takes his job very seriously. It's lots of fun seeing how each of these characters evolve and entertain. Each actor is perfect in their role.
Certain aspects of the classic fairy tale are eluded to, such as the golden goose and the golden harp, but neither are spotlighted here. They keep the story fairly clean cut and focused instead of confusing it with a lot of side stories. And while you would think that human against Giant would be a foregone conclusion with the humans becoming dinner (and yes, some did), they do give the humans a bit more credit and ability than in the past fairy tale attempts.
Now for the bad. There is a lot of FX or CGI effects. I'm not a film maker so I really don't know the difference and when one is used over the other. Most of the time it feels real but there are times it feels more like video game graphics. This is a teeny complaint. There is a bit of what we call "8 year old boy humor" but it's brief and not too bad, just sort of eye rolling and yes, our 11 year old boy said "Gross!" while laughing so the "bit" hit it's intended mark.
However, none of it truly gets bad enough or gory enough that an 8 year old couldn't see it. Yes, there are battles, yes, humans get eaten, people die in battle but overall it's "cutaway" death. More "implied" than actually seen. The villains die spectacularly, which I loved, and they all live happily ever after...just what you want from a fairy tale.
It's given a PG-13 rating but I do think that's a bit too much. I, too, think that 8 and up would enjoy this film. Younger than that may be a bit scared by the Giants and not like the battle scenes. My final rating is a 9 out of 10. It loses a point only for the minor graphics issues. We each had a really good time watching this one as a family and we are sure to own it as soon as it comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray.
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