Audiences seem to be taking well to Nicholas Hoult playing a love-struck zombie in Warm Bodies (read our review), but the last trailer for Jack the Giant Slayer – the latest fairy tale re-imagined as a blockbuster, from director Bryan Singer – did not manage to make Hoult seem convincing as an unsuspecting hero (nor did the actual film come off as an enthralling big-budget fantasy-adventure).
The marketing for Singer’s delayed picture (following Warner Bros. pulling the plug on Arthur & Lancelot) is stepping its game up with a new trailer that eases back on the whimsical humor of its predecessor – so no Ewan McGregor-in-a-blanket – and instead, ramps up the spectacle, showing off the digitally-rendered beanstalk centerpiece and motion-capture animated giants fully in action.
Jack the Giant Slayer combines elements from the “Jack and the Beanstalk” and “Jack the Giant Killer” stories, with Hoult playing the farmboy who re-ignites the ancient war between humans and giants by accidentally (?) planting magical seeds given to him by a mysterious stranger. The rest of the cast includes lesser-known Eleanor Tomlinson as the daring princess, Ewan McGregor as a comically-confidant knight, Ian McShane (American Horror Story: Asylum) as the crotchety king and Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games) as his scheming advisor.
Meanwhile, the ‘large head’ of the two-headed giant leader General Fallon is mo-capped by fan-favorite Bill Nighy, with his ‘small head’ played by voice actor legend John Kassir (who voiced Crypt Keeper on Tales from the Crypt in the 1990s and thereafter worked on cartoon series like Eek! the Cat, CatDog, Rocket Power and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy).
Check out the new Jack the Giant Slayer poster (via Total Film):
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The script from Darren Lemke (Shrek Forever After) and Oscar-winner Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher) – based on the story co-conceived by Lemke and David Dobkin (director of Shanghai Knights, Wedding Crashers and Fred Claus) – appears to meld ingredients from your stereotypical Disney-animated fairy tale movie with what’s become industry-standard 3D spectacle and action.
It’s a welcome change-of-pace from the ‘darker and grittier’ Hollywood trend, but the storytelling approach could be too dated for some; not to mention, the effects, set pieces and costumes all look solid on their own, but following the act of director Peter Jackson’s first Hobbit installment – with its Oscar-nominated craftsmanship and 3D filmmaking – Singer’s film seems like a bit of a step-back (translation: just another run of the mill CGI-effects show).
Jack the Giant Slayer opens in theaters (2D, 3D and IMAX 3D) on March 1st, 2013. Will you be checking it out?
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Source: iTunes Movie Trailers
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I wouldnt say worse than the hobbit special effects wise. These giants look more realistic than the white orc..
You’re opinion is skewed..hobbit special effect were fantastic…
this
I agree, the hobbit was flawless!
Are you kidding me? Pfff
Singer has no good feel for costumes and action !
It always feels a step back,more TV like to me ! Nothing really stands out,colors or cinematography ..and his direction….:(
This shows what we can expect from X-men I guess ! Sad Day !
Just wish I am wrong !
From singer? Just look at xmen one and two again. Kinda looks made for tv.
Proof that Hollywood has no more original ideas.
It looks like some good popcorn fun. It will probably be cheesy but I’m okay with it.
i was really impressed with the teaser that came out a year ago. everything after that, not so much. will still probably check it out though, just not right away.
After watching that trailer, it seems like nothing I might say would ever seem hyperbolic, ever again. Forever! The mixture of feelings I have about the broad acceptance this film will inevitably receive by imbeciles, and plaintive cries of critics for anyone with a semblance of taste to save themselves from this travesty, range from disgust, through anger, and ending with a sadness at how base our culture is becoming.
Changing the soundtrack doesn’t make this look anymore appealing, the specials effects look awful, Jack Black in Gullivers Travels did a bet job at portraying a Giant in a tiny kingdom!
I’d rather have seen actual people pretending to be Giants rather than these CGI baffoons, reminded me of the infected in I Am Legend
Will watch drunk one night for a laugh with my mates me thinks, a tv show on SyFy beckons
I hate when they scale up real people. I thought the Cyclops in Wrath of the Titans looked really good. I’ll probably check this out.
I’d rather watch the old animated version of The BFG
I agree, if you don’t have the budget for CGI just do something simpler!
Is it just me or was the film bumped up from PG to PG-13?
In the trailer that I have seen twice, the CGI characters looked extremely, extremely fake. Who knows about the actual film, but it came across as not really interesting at all, except maybe as a fun day in the park for kids. The thing that always kind of captivated me about “Jack and the Beanstalk” was the mysterious, scary suspense of sneaking around with a monstrous giant about. This trailer captured none of that.
I never understood Bryan Singer’s devotion to making this film.
This flick will come and go and barely anyone will have noticed.
Now, X Men Day Of Future Past – That’s a movie I WANT to see.
I never saw previous trailers and this looked ok until the giants appeared.
Aafter reading the rest of the article and finding out the story was written and scripted by one of the people behind Shrek Forever After, I’m even more convinced that this movie will suck.
I really like the new take on the age-old tale of “Jack & the Bean Stalk.” The trailers are quite enticing. However, the CGI (from the trailers) is not up to par with modern standards. I can only hope that these trailers don’t show the final rendered products.
Regardless, I’m invested, and I hope the final product is as interesting as the trailers promise. Bryan Singer is no joke, but he doesn’t have the best track record these days.
I can’t believe how bad the giants look. I’m not sure how much I can enjoy the movie when the CGI is THAT distracting.
Another great momment in Hollywood history! After snow white and her gothic hunter, Lincoln slaying vampires and Hansel & Gretel teaming up to clear the world from walking dead, now Jack goes on a giant killing rampage.
I have a great idea for the next movie to propose to Hollywood: Snowwhite lives in the forrest with the 7 dwarves. A Genetic experiment from the Bad Witch turns the whole forrest to a Post apocalyptic setting and the seven dwarves to zombies. Snowwhite escapes and now has to fight every undead dwarf before finding her good knight. They team up and head to kill the witch! It has a known character, zombies and a sweet love story (hollywood style) plus extremely good cgi graphics. Available also in 3D and IMAX!!!
Or maybe a rendition of The Three Little Pigs except instead of pigs, they’re human brothers with their own issues. One decided to move to a cabin in a rural area to escape the hustle and bustle of city life and has a peaceful life with a family he adores, another is a free spirit who was always rebellious and lives the hippie lifestyle, something which his family never approved of while the third is a military vet who just wants to settle down in the suburbs.
Trouble brews when a mysterious stranger arrives on each of their doorsteps carrying a dark secret that could turn their lives upside down, forcing the brothers to come together for the first time in years and work together to not only stop these secrets from being spilled but also to mend their broken relationships and accept each other for their differences.
Dude. That sounds… Quite good actually.