After watching Snow White and the Huntsman, which was terrible, my expectations of a fairy-tale remake were not particularly high; this film was a pleasant surprise that made my decide that these kinds of films can be pulled off well.
The plot was, for what they began with, pretty good. They filled out the old story, and extended it, stretching it more, with a back-story to the giants and different twists and turns, filling it out when you think it's over. Which, I suppose, was good, as it provided a much more engaging film than the original plot would have made it. Although it was fundamentally a Mario style save the Princess film, it was beefed up enough to make it more gripping, so even though you could guess what would happen you were still happy to watch for the thrills. The creation of more characters also helped to give it a much more wholesome flavours.
As for the characters, they were quite enjoyable. Although they did play on the class distinction, they didn't do it so much that Jack and the Nobles couldn't talk without awkward bowing, which helped make all the characters who were supposed to be friendly and relatable friendly and relatable. Frequent conversations also helped make it all the more realistic and reinforce the characters. Although they were rather undeveloped and fitted into classic stock positions, this never seemed to be a problem; they all reacted as real people would react (except, perhaps, with the Beanstalk which everyone seemed to take at face value.) I can't really comment much on the acting, since I'm no expert, apart from the fact that they all seemed believable.
The creation of the world was very good; you had the pantos, the amusements, the fair set up around the beanstalk, the reference to how Jack lived as a tenant farmer, these all created a very realistic portrayal of events that made you aware of how this Kingdom lived, which is better than most fantasy's which forget about the need for agriculture in a decent medieval economy.
The one main area of criticism was the make up department; this was the one area which let down the realism of the film. None of the actors were covered in sweat, or dirt, or dirty sweat, despite their ordeals! Elmont went in an oven and came out covered in some kind of pantomime flour covering, before quickly looking pristine, with perfect hair as before. Jack goes into countless murky puddles, but rather than coming out looking like he's been covered in grime, he looks more like he's come out of a bath! He's a peasant for goodness sake, slap some mud on him! Why does he look like he's had a bath every day when it would be more likely every year, and not a good bath at that? The costumes were, although good and periodic (although some of the armour seemed quite ridiculously fancy) not covered in dirt at all. Maybe this was an arty effect to try and make it look more like a pantomime, but it was more likely that people forgot what a person who works on a farm in the middle ages would look like.
Finally, the ending, without giving too much away, was a very quirky and interesting way to end it. They could have left it on the fairly cliché, happily ever after, ending, but they carried it on to something a lot more entertaining. And they pulled it off fairly well. So bravo in this respect.
Overall, this film was a highly enjoyable light hearted, family adventure film that is well worth watching if you enjoy these kinds of movies. If you're looking for a thought provoking, philosophical, character driven film with a dense plot then perhaps this film isn't for you.
The plot was, for what they began with, pretty good. They filled out the old story, and extended it, stretching it more, with a back-story to the giants and different twists and turns, filling it out when you think it's over. Which, I suppose, was good, as it provided a much more engaging film than the original plot would have made it. Although it was fundamentally a Mario style save the Princess film, it was beefed up enough to make it more gripping, so even though you could guess what would happen you were still happy to watch for the thrills. The creation of more characters also helped to give it a much more wholesome flavours.
As for the characters, they were quite enjoyable. Although they did play on the class distinction, they didn't do it so much that Jack and the Nobles couldn't talk without awkward bowing, which helped make all the characters who were supposed to be friendly and relatable friendly and relatable. Frequent conversations also helped make it all the more realistic and reinforce the characters. Although they were rather undeveloped and fitted into classic stock positions, this never seemed to be a problem; they all reacted as real people would react (except, perhaps, with the Beanstalk which everyone seemed to take at face value.) I can't really comment much on the acting, since I'm no expert, apart from the fact that they all seemed believable.
The creation of the world was very good; you had the pantos, the amusements, the fair set up around the beanstalk, the reference to how Jack lived as a tenant farmer, these all created a very realistic portrayal of events that made you aware of how this Kingdom lived, which is better than most fantasy's which forget about the need for agriculture in a decent medieval economy.
The one main area of criticism was the make up department; this was the one area which let down the realism of the film. None of the actors were covered in sweat, or dirt, or dirty sweat, despite their ordeals! Elmont went in an oven and came out covered in some kind of pantomime flour covering, before quickly looking pristine, with perfect hair as before. Jack goes into countless murky puddles, but rather than coming out looking like he's been covered in grime, he looks more like he's come out of a bath! He's a peasant for goodness sake, slap some mud on him! Why does he look like he's had a bath every day when it would be more likely every year, and not a good bath at that? The costumes were, although good and periodic (although some of the armour seemed quite ridiculously fancy) not covered in dirt at all. Maybe this was an arty effect to try and make it look more like a pantomime, but it was more likely that people forgot what a person who works on a farm in the middle ages would look like.
Finally, the ending, without giving too much away, was a very quirky and interesting way to end it. They could have left it on the fairly cliché, happily ever after, ending, but they carried it on to something a lot more entertaining. And they pulled it off fairly well. So bravo in this respect.
Overall, this film was a highly enjoyable light hearted, family adventure film that is well worth watching if you enjoy these kinds of movies. If you're looking for a thought provoking, philosophical, character driven film with a dense plot then perhaps this film isn't for you.
Tell Your Friends