What do Superman, Keyser Söze and the X-Men have in common? Yes, they may all be great movie characters but they have also been brought to life on the big screen by one of cinema’s best directors, Bryan Singer. March 22nd sees the release of Singer’s newest film, JACK THE GIANT SLAYER, complete with monstrous giants and giant beanstalks. If you thought you knew the classic story…think again, as Singer puts an exhilarating twist on the tale.
Everyone knows the classic children’s story, ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ but Singer has had the vision to fuse it with an Arthurian legend who used to travel around slaying giants and returning their heads to King Arthur. He believes that it’s every boy’s fantasy to see this sort of story brought to life. We’ve seen the fairytales in the storybooks but to see for real is something else. Nonetheless, this is no normal fairytale, as USA Today wrote, ‘There’s more to this Jack and Beanstalk adaptation than Fee-fi-fo-fum.’
The story follows Jack, a farm boy, who unknowingly opens a gateway between our world and the land of giants. A battle beckons as Jack must save the Kingdom before the gruesome giants take over. Vivid and breathtaking visuals coupled with Singer’s direction invite you into an ancient world like no other.
The chance to work on such visuals was one of the reasons that attracted Singer to direct the picture. The majority of the film was shot in London but the end product is testament to the quality of technology used. The production benefitted hugely from the use of the Motion Capture technology allowing Singer to inject a personality into every giant. Before the shoot with the principal actors, these giants were created on computers. Nevertheless, the beauty of this technology allows Singer to project these giants into the actual place of shooting. Whilst cast members were acting to tennis balls, Singer had the opportunity to watch a 3D monitor with the giants performing. It’s as if the giants were there in real life. This is a spectacle that needs to be seen to be believed.
A film can’t simply rely on state of the art technology and incredible scenery. JACK THE GIANT SLAYER not only has an enthralling, adventure fuelled story but an incredibly talented cast. Nicholas Hoult and Eleanor Tomlinson’s chemistry is something Singer is very pleased with as they team up with the Errol Flynn-esque, Elmont, played by Ewan McGregor. They battle against various characters, including the power hungry Roderick, played by Stanley Tucci and also the gargantuan giant, General Fallon, played by Bill Nighy. Will Jack become the hero?
Singer is hot property both on the big and small screen with hits including X-MEN and medical drama, HOUSE. Nonetheless, there was one film that really made people sit up, take notice and question, ‘Who is Keyser Söze?’ This is of course the iconic, modern great, ‘THE USUAL SUSPECTS’, a film that is anything but usual.
It is clear that this is a director that doesn’t shy away from the different. Singer’s techniques include imagining himself in the lead role of Jack but when creating this ancient world he also draws similarities between the beanstalks and the biblical, ‘Tower of Babel.’ A director whose knowledge and enthusiasm fertilises that one bean and out stems mayhem and madness to deliver a rumbustious, rollicking adventure with giants and heroes around every corner.
JACK THE GIANT SLAYER is released in theatres on March 22nd.
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