The vast majority of fantasy/comic book/ superhero films these days seem to be aimed squarely at adults. There aren't many that have children as the target demographic (Thor is one exception), so it's nice to see a reasonably wellmade film like Jack the Giant Slayer set its sights squarely on 8-13 year old boys.
Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies, About a Boy) plays Jack. He unwittingly plants the seeds for the beanstalk, which results in a princess (Eleanor Tomlinson) being trapped in the realm of man-eating giants (the scariest of which is voiced by Bill Nighy). There's also a treacherous nobleman (Stanley Tucci) and other standard fantasy trappings.
The film isn't groundbreaking, but for most of its running time, it's agreeable, old-fashioned fun. It doesn't have the postmodern winking at the audience or self-important dreariness of many recent fantasy films. There's an odd, unnecessary final scene, but overall the film works. It doesn't reach the heights of director Bryan Singer's first two X-Men films, but it's good for dads looking to take their sons to a film they can both enjoy.
