Jack the Giant Slayer
Pumped-up action epic adaptations of fairy tales are becoming quite commonplace at the movies these days.
"Jack and the Giant Slayer" may be the best of the lot to date, but don't mistake that as too high of praise, because it's largely by default. These films, classics or not, just don't tend to be that great. See the "Snow White" films from last year (especially "Huntsman"; "Mirror, Mirror" was more comedy, but the results weren't any better). "Alice in Wonderland," "Red Riding Hood," and "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters." Not a great track record.
"Jack" is...yes, an adaptation of "Jack and the Beanstalk," and if that sounds like something out of a parody trailer on "Saturday Night Live," I would agree with you. Jack (Nicholas Hoult of the recent "Warm Bodies") plays a wide-eyed Jack, a few years older than he should be (to make him more action-hero and romance-appropriate).
Jack, orphaned and living with his farmer uncle (his father is seen in a brief, charming prologue) is sent to town to sell a horse so they can fix the roof. In a chance encounter he meets the kingdom's fair Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson), who has a tendency to stray away from the safe walls of the castle.
Turns out the beanstalk is actually a gateway of sorts between humanity and a race of warrior giants. Years prior the king defeated the giants and destroyed the beanstalk, but a handful of magic beans remained. The evil Roderick (Stanley Tucci), an advisor to the king and promised suitor to Isabelle, as it turns out has been searching for the beans, along with the magical crown that can control the giants.
Through a series of events Jack comes into possession of the beans and the princess, and mixing the two is a dangerous combination, and the princess is swept away to the giant's realm.
The king (Ian McShane) sends a team after her, and Jack insists on going with them.
From there the film is pumped up action/adventure fantasy, with big effects sequences and action scenes as the race of giants, who have a taste for humans, skin, bones and all, menace the humans.
The film focuses on the romance between Isabelle and Jack, creating a tame, predicable run for the film that culiminates in a rather predictable battle that is large on spectacle but not particularly interesting (save for some of the giants' choices of weapon).
Hoult is capable but not all that interesting as the title character, and that's the story for most of the film. The archetypes are there, but there's nothing that distinguishes them from dozens of other similar films.
For a film ostensibly made for children, the story is awfully ghastly. However, director Bryan Singer strategically edits so as to cut away from the carnage. Still, younger kids may find the giants scary, and there is a lot of menace and stabbing violence, so if you steer your kids away from that sort of thing you should beware.
Still, "Jack" is an affable, mostly tame and enjoyable time at the movies, hardly an instant classic but a somewhat forgettable good time that will at worst leave you shrugging your shoulders at the end.