Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)

The ancient war between humans and a race of giants is reignited when Jack, a young farmhand fighting for a kingdom and the love of a princess, opens a gateway between the two worlds.

Director:

Bryan Singer

Writers:

Darren Lemke (screenplay), Christopher McQuarrie (screenplay)

Stars:

Nicholas Hoult, Stanley Tucci, Ewan McGregor

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicholas Hoult	...	Jack
Eleanor Tomlinson	...	Isabelle
Ewan McGregor	...	Elmont
Stanley Tucci	...	Roderick
Eddie Marsan	...	Crawe
Ewen Bremner	...	Wicke
Ian McShane	...	King Brahmwell
Christopher Fairbank	...	Uncle
Simon Lowe	...	Monk
Mingus Johnston	...	Bald
Ralph Brown	...	General Entin
Joy McBrinn	...	Old Maid
Chris Brailsford	...	Blacksmith
Warwick Davis	...	Old Hamm
Craig Salisbury	...	Panto Erik the Great

Storyline

Sent to the market by his uncle to sell their horse and buy thatch for their roof, Jack meets the beautiful Princess Isabelle, whom he rescues from ruffians. He returns home with only a handful of beans given to him by a monk who claimed they were sacred, but that does little to impress his uncle, who tosses them away. In the night, the Princess arrives, having run off to keep herself from marrying Roderick, who is clearly only interested in becoming king. Soon, the beans take root with a giant stalk carrying away the princess and Jack's house. He soon sets off on an adventure with the king's guards to rescue the princess, only to find that a mythical land filled with giants really exists.

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Plot Keywords:

no opening credits | fairy tale | character name as title | jack the giant killer character | psychotronic film | 

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Taglines:

If you think you know the story, you don't know Jack.

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense scenes of fantasy action violence, some frightening images and brief language

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Bryan Singer came on board as replacement for D.J. Caruso as director in 2009, he hired his friend and frequent collaborator Christopher McQuarrie to tackle another take on the script.

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Goofs

When the giant king finds the bag of beans dropped by Roderick, it has five beans; however, after the giant blows them into the water, only four stalks grow. Counting the initial bean that starts this story and the bean that Jack retains, there should be seven beans in all; eight if you count the one from the story book's tale.

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Quotes

Elmont: Get the king to safety!
King Brahmwell: [draws his sword] Like hell!

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Crazy Credits

The Bad Hat Harry logo contains silhouettes of giants, who are first seen from a human point-of-view (their feet are seen stomping around) before they seen in their entirety.

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Alternate Versions

German version was cut for violence (Fallon getting hit by arrows in the face and burning) to secure a "Not under 12" rating.

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Connections

Referenced in The Big Review: Spring Trailer Park (2013)

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Soundtracks

Ginger Pig's Duet
Written by Lior Rosner
Performed by Lior Rosner

User Reviews

A film your children can watch

Unlike many of Hollywood's reimaginings of fairy tales, this film is actually decent. One can let children watch this in the same manner our grandparents were reading the original stories. It has morals, it is pretty, actors play well and, most of all, it is not condescendingly stupid. Instead, one can actually enjoy this on almost all levels.

It was funny to see actors Ewan McGregor and Ewen Bremner play in a film together again (Rents and Spud), but they had no real interaction. Nicholas Hoult was OK as the hero of the story and Stanley Tucci, as usual, a great villain. The one that was rather disappointing was the princess, clearly a role that was not really thought out much more than "cute damsel in distress, ready for the rescue". Her father wasn't much either, but at least he had lines. Also, for a movie "made in USA" a great many English actors. Even the story was set in England, as we see in the end.

Bottom line: while not the best movie ever, it was certainly an entertaining blockbuster that retained a lot of the feel and plot of the original fairy tale. It also manages to have an insane body count without actually showing any blood. The US rating system is idiotic for sure. Anyway, the movie was fun. I can recommend it for an easy watch.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 March 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jack the Giant Killer

Filming Locations:

Longcross Studios, Chobham Lane, Longcross, Surrey, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$195,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$27,202,226, 3 March 2013

Gross USA:

$65,187,603

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$197,687,603

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Legendary Entertainment, Original Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS Datasat Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Atmos IMAX 6-Track Sonics-DDP

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1