Blu-ray Review: ‘Jack the Giant Slayer’ Crushes Entertainment with Spectacle

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CHICAGO – Every element of “Jack the Giant Slayer,” released today on Blu-ray and DVD, feels like a subpar version of something done better in a superior film. There’s the epic scope and final siege of a “Lord of the Rings” film. There’s the reimagined fairy tale not unlike “Alice in Wonderland” or “Oz the Great and Powerful.” And there’s the over-reliance on CGI like so many failed blockbusters.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

Director Bryan Singer finds the visual awe in some of his set pieces and none of the performances are bad by any stretch. It’s just that the film never taps into that magical fantasy vein that it needed to in order to feel like more than a hollow Hollywood exercise. It’s a film that jumps on a trend more than feels creatively vital in any way. Even little ones, who can’t see it because of the truly boneheaded decision to release it PG-13, will be bored. It’s not awful but it may be the most forgettable movie this expensive ever made.

The charming Nicholas Hoult plays Jack, the farmhand caught in an epic battle for the safety of mankind when a beanstalk exposes Earth to a giant-filled world in the sky. “Jack the Giant Slayer” is SO heavily reliant on special effects that it starts to feel like a cartoon (and will, as all CGI films do, age horrendously). The special features offer some insight into the making of the project, although even they are frustrating in their organization, compiled into an interactive beanstalk menu under the banner “Become a Giant Slayer.” No thanks.

Jack the Giant Slayer was released on Blu-ray and DVD on June 18, 2013
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Synopsis:
The epic fantasy tale explodes across the screen in this superb new interpretation that recounts the heroic adventures of an ordinary young farmhand who battles a face of bloodthirsty giants to save a kingdom and its beloved princess from harm.

Special Features:
o Become a Giant Slayer: With Nicholas Hoult As Your Guide Along With Essential Videos You’ll Embark On An Adventure Up The Monstrous Beanstalk On The Way To Becoming A Heroic Giant Slayer
o Deleted Scenes
o Gag Reel

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com