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JACK THE GIANT SLAYER
(114 min, M)
This is a surprisingly dark and
violent re-telling of an old fairytale.
The degree and frequency of
violence makes it quite unsuitable
for the very young; like the recent
Red Riding Hood and Snow White
and the Huntsman, it’s clearly
aimed at older teens. I the hands of
director Bryan Singer (The Usual
Suspects, Superman Returns, XMen) it delivers an update on the
old legend that is entertaining,
exciting and visually impressive.
A prologue reveals the banishment
of a nasty race of giants to the sky
kingdom of Gantua by the heroic
king Erik. Vowing vengeance, the
giants bide their time.
Years pass and the story blurs into
myth- until the devious prince
Roderick (Stanley Tucci) plots to
re-establish a link with Gantua (via
a beanstalk, of course!) so he can
enlist the giants as a personal army
to vanquish Erik’s descendants led
by reigning King Brahmwell (Ian
McShane). Thwarting Roderick’s
plot are Brahmwell, daughter
Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson),
valiant knight Elmont (Ewan
McGregor channelling his ObiWan Kenobi character from the
recent Star Wars trilogy) and a
humble farmboy, Jack (Nicholas
Hoult). They climb the stalk, but
fail to stop Roderick, then they
chop down the stalk but are
blindsided by the availability of
more beans, which produce even
more stalks, thereby allowing
hordes of vengeful giants to
scrabble down to earth, where they
lay siege to the king’s castle. A
spectacular battle ensues, followed
by a clever postscript explaining
not only how the tale of Jack and
the Beanstalk evolved over the
centuries, but also how the myth
has links to historical fact in the
present day’s British royal family.
It’s all good, dark fun, with good
performances by all, including
actors playing the giants (Bill
Nighy, John Kassir, Ben Daniels,
John Cornell, etc), while the 3D
effects impress, especially during
the vertiginous ascent and descent
of the beanstalk.
Rating: 7/10.
OZ THE GREAT AND
POWERFUL
(130 min, PG)
This is an enjoyable prequel to
1939’s beloved Wizard of Oz (and
based on the series of books by L.
Frank Baum). It tells how the
fabled wizard first arrived in the
mythical Emerald City. Played by
James Franco, Oscar “Oz” Diggs is
a charlatan, a conman attached to a
travelling circus who winds up
caught in a tornado (like Dorothy
in the 1939 film) which transports
him from Kansas circa 1905 to Oz.
Obsessed with gaining any
personal advantage, he selfishly
manipulates those he meets,
inadvertently setting in motion
events which have grave
implications for the citizens of Oz,
who mistake him for a saviour
foretold by local legend. A power
struggle ensues between the
witches of the North (Glinda,
played by Michelle
Williams), East
(Evanora, Rachel
Weisz) and West
(Theodora, Mila
Kunis). This sets up
the conflict explored
in the 1939 film. It’s
up to Oscar (a suitably
smarmy Franco) to
redeem himself by
shelving his selfish
ways, conjuring the
magic he always
boasted about and
saving the citizens of
Oz from the combined
might of the wicked
Evanora and the initially
benevolent Theodora. Theodora’s
transformation is startlingly scary!
Oz itself is beautifully rendered in
3D, particularly the forbidding
Dark Forest and the spectacular
final confrontation in the Emerald
City. The actors deliver enjoyable
performances, but the film is too
long at 130 minutes. The narrative
is handled in an assured manner by
director Sam Raimi (The Evil
Dead, The Quick and the Dead, the
early 2000s Spider-Man trilogy).
There are some copyright issues
(this film is made by Disney, the
1939 film is owned by Warner
Brothers), restricting Raimi from
depicting certain things from the
original film, but this doesn’t stop
the film being recognised for what
it is: an Oz prequel.In fact, the only
notable omission is the presence of
song and dance numbers; the
original was full of them, while this
one has virtually none. It is an
enjoyable tale nonetheless.
Rating: 8/10
Jack the Giant Slayer photo: our
heroes find themselves at the
mercy of a savage race of giants
(top).
Oz the Great and Powerful
photo: Oz (James Franco) and
his sidekicks brave the perils of
the Dark Forest (bottom).