Jack the Giant Slayer Directed by: Bryan Singer Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Eleanor Tomlinson Rating: Not Yet Rated Release Date: March 1, 2013
TRAILER SCORE: 3/10
Thoughts by TSR: Many moons ago (all the way back in January), this film was known as Jack the Giant Killer. In those days it was set to come out in June of this year. Obviously that did not happen. Now it’s coming back around for its March 2013 release date with a shiny new title. What a shame, then, that this is even less appealing than the first trailer.
The tone remains an issue, just as it was when I first wrote about it. It’s goofy and over serious in equal measure, and neither mode works particularly well. Neither do the visual effects (hopefully they will look better in a few months). The CGI assault on my eyeballs was almost enough to make me miss the horrible, yet completely obvious tagline. “You don’t know Jack.” Seriously? That’s the best you could do, eh? One of the parts I spoke kindly of last time was the supporting cast, but even they don’t come off very well this time. Ewan McGregor and Stanley Tucci look to be having fun picking up this particular paycheck, so I guess Tucci didn’t mind being burdened with yet another set of ridiculous choppers (seriously, between this, The Lovely Bones, and The Hunger Games, I can no longer ignore it).
Still, I’ll probably end up seeing Jack the Giant Killer Slayer. It’s the type of film I generally stumble upon once it hits cable, and maybe these nonexistent expectations will be a blessing. It certainly can’t be much worse than this trailer.