Jack and the Giants - Blu-Ray

Film: The saga of Hans and the Beanstalk, known in English as Jack and the Beanstalk, has been around in a wide variety of versions for centuries. Although the first written down version was not written until 1807, motifs of this fairy tale exist in many different cultures under different names and can be traced back to the 12th century. And to this day, this thrilling fairy tale still enjoys great popularity. Now X-Men director Bryan Singer has also taken up the saga, loosely based on motifs from Hans and the Beanstalk and the older Jack the Giant Killer, and staged his very own version of the adventure story.

In Jack and the Giants, Singer tells of young Jack (Nicholas Hoult), who is supposed to be just selling his uncle's horse and cart, but in the process inadvertently comes into possession of some magic beans. These, when wet, open a gateway between the world of man and the realm of bloodthirsty giants who live above the clouds. When the beautiful and spirited princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlison) seeks shelter in Jack's house in the pouring rain, the unbelievable happens: one of the beans gets wet and in a few seconds a huge beanstalk grows into the sky, taking the house and princess with it. When the desperate King Brahmwell (Ian McShane) sends out a rescue party to save Isabelle, the actually rather timid Jack joins the noble knight Elmont (Ewan McGregor) and his men. Little does he know that the greatest danger comes not from the giants at the end of the beanstalk, but from Isabelle's fiancé, the cunning Roderick (Stanley Tucci). For he has a particularly cunning plan that could cost the lives not only of Isabelle, but of every single inhabitant of the kingdom...

Jack and the Giants is an entertaining fantasy adventure that, while clearly aimed at a younger audience, is also relatively dark overall. There are always kid-friendly gags that even drift slightly into the silly at times. On the other hand, the world Singer and his team have created isn't colorful and playful, but rather rough and threatening. As a result, the whole thing just doesn't feel like a pure children's movie, but like a great adventure that even older fairy tale fans can enjoy.

While the film impresses less with its story or polished dialogues, but primarily with its effects. Although the giants in particular cannot deny their computer origins, the world above the clouds and its inhabitants can really be seen. The extremely high budget of the film of allegedly up to 200 million dollars makes itself felt here in a very impressive way. Even if the screenplay can't really do justice to the visual realization, it at least makes up for some of the dramaturgical weaknesses.

The actors act overall as one might expect in a fairy tale like this. While Nicholas Hoult is convincing as the youthful hero against his will, Ewan McGregor successfully plays against the nasty haircut he was given for this role with refreshing ease. Only the villains of the story, Stanley Tucci and Ewen Bremner as his dorky sidekick, play a little too over-the-top. One would have liked a little more menace from Tucci's Roderick in particular, which would certainly have added to the story's inherently decent level of tension.

Bottom line, you're left with the feeling that Jack and the Giants doesn't quite live up to its existing potential. Whether it's the director, cast, or any other creative minds behind the scenes, they all brought obvious talent and plenty of good ideas to this big-budget production. And yet, in the end, the fantastic action feels too arbitrary, too interchangeable to really leave a lasting impression. Surely, the whole thing is just a fairy tale, which accordingly follows strictly given rules and hardly offers any real surprises. As such, the movie works very well. But the big aha-effect just doesn't happen. As a viewer you always wait for something special, something spectacular, which just doesn't come. A few wild giants just aren't enough to really offer more than nice fantasy entertainment. But if you don't expect more than a sometimes exciting, sometimes amusing fairy tale told in an engaging visual style, you can confidently climb up the beanstalk with Jack and will surely have a lot of fun in the realm of the giants. Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: As was to be expected, the film can fully convince in technical terms. The image of the Blu-Ray is absolutely clean and has a very good image sharpness, through which the richness of detail of the film is excellent. The colouring, the matching of the contrasts and the good picture depth, which is also recognisable in the 2D version, also support the positive overall impression. The sound is in no way inferior. Again and again the surround channels come into play thanks to well-implemented sound effects, with the rich bass ensuring that it's not only in the world of giants, but also in the living room at home again and again strongly rumbles. Very good!

Extras: The extras on the Blu-ray are somewhat disappointing. Apart from a couple of cut scenes (approx. 8 mins), where an unfinished animated alternate opening sequence takes up most of the time, and outtakes (approx. 3 mins), there is also the interactive game Become a Giant Conqueror. Here the viewer can use the remote to climb a beanstalk, where bad decisions can lead to a dead end or a crash. On the way up there is the option to watch some short making of clips. The fact that there isn't the option to watch these featurettes separately is a bit annoying in the long run. Because it can be that you need several attempts until you can really watch all clips. Since the way it is made is aimed more at children, but the content is aimed at older viewers, this interactive feature can not really be called successful. Too bad!

Conclusion: Jack and the Giants is a great fantasy adventure with a lot of potential, but it is not fully exploited. Despite some very good scenes and a high entertainment factor, the film remains too ordinary and interchangeable to leave a lasting impression. However, if you don't expect more than a dark fairy tale with good effects and a few amusing interludes, this Blu-Ray can definitely be recommended!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp