Peter Suderman Reviews Jack the Giant Slayer
Peter Suderman reviews the bland blandness of Jack the Giant Slayer in today's Washington Times:
The most striking thing about "Jack the Giant Slayer" is how utterly unmemorable it is. In an already crowded forest of dull, formulaic, early-year films, "Jack's" commitment to formulized blandness stands out like, well, a skyscraper-sized beanstalk.
This version of the "Jack and the Beanstalk" has everything you would want in a big-budget fantasy: romance, action, adventure, traitorous villains and noble heroes. Everything, that is, except the smallest hint of anything resembling an actual personality.
Instead, there's a parade of familiar situations and character types. There's Jack (Nicholas Hoult), the young man who discovers his inner strength after a long journey, and Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson), the young woman whose attention he craves. There's a horde of fearsome giants in the sky, a medieval castle ripe for invasion, and a hidden world in the clouds. There's a sympathetic rogue knight (Ewan McGregor), a kindhearted king (Ian McShane) and a dastardly adviser to the crown (Stanley Tucci). And there's nothing remotely interesting about any of them.