Jack the Giant Slayer is an enjoyable entertainment, but ultimately forgettable. When Director Bryan Singer and writer Christopher McQuarrie work together, usually something memorable happens (they worked together on the Usual Suspects). In this case, their collaboration falls more on the disappointing scale than expected. It would appear their beanstalks are grasping for something just out of their reach.
Fee. Fi. Fo. Fum (coincidentally, the name of 4 giants). I remember being read those words when I was a kid. Apparently Jack (Nicholas Hoult) the farm boy and Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson) cannot get enough of the beanstalks, giants, and magic beans. After some ineptitude on both their parts, Isabelle and Jack become participants in the first beanstalk connection between giants and humans in a few generations. Also along for the ride are Elmont (Ewan McGregor), the king’s best soldier, and Roderick (Stanley Tucci), the princess’s betrothed who clearly has subversive intentions.
The scripts greatest effort is spent on turning Jack and the Beanstalk into a fantasy adventure akin to a lite version of the Hobbit. The key to a winning fantasy adventure are great special effects and sympathetic heroes. The beanstalk explosions are very impressive and intimidating: at times, the beanstalk itself feels like another character since it is consistently moving and evolving. The giants are not bumbling morons, but are in fact, very menacing agile taller creatures that walk the line between disgusting and scary. To combat the giants, Jack is eager to help and cute with Isabelle (she is a weak point; there is nothing memorable about her). Roderick and Elmont get to chew a little scenery, but are forgotten after the half way point. The characters are the big failing of Jack and the Giant Slayer; they get very few lines, even fewer jokes, making them bland types defined by the actors’ charisma only (thankfully Jack has the most winning personality, otherwise Jack the Giant Slayer would be very boring).
Successful fantasies also work due to solid pacing, which Jack the Giant Slayer executes very well. Depending on the goals of the scene, each section is given the right ratio of time. The best example is the trek up the beanstalk; using two scenes at night and day, Singer put a number on the time it takes to go up the beanstalk as well as give the characters a few little moments to try to develop characters. After these scenes, the movie gets to the beanstalk peak: climbing over in about 10 minutes well shot and edited.
With the exception of the beanstalks themselves, Jack the Giant Slayer is an unmemorable adventure. With the exception of Nicholas Hoult, you could have a conference call with all the phoned in performances. I got the sense that the writers felt that the movie wrote itself when they read the poem, and the lack of effort manifests on-screen as lazy and uninspired action. Much like trading a horse for beans, I feel very let down by Jack the Giant Slayer.