Jack the Giant Slayer - Fie-Fi-Fo...FUN!

'Fee-fi-fo-fum, ask not whence the thunder comes.' So opens Jack the Giant Slayer, whose thunder in this instance comes from The Usual Suspects and X-Men director Bryan Singer. After the recent release of Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, it seems that our childhood folk tales are getting the big screen treatment - such is the case with Jack - a fusion of the classic tales 'Jack and the Beanstalk' and 'Jack the Giant Killer'.

The film begins by introducing the hero of the tale. Jack, a seemingly hopeless farm-boy, whilst in an attempt to sell his horse, chances upon an encounter with a mysterious monk attempting to flee the city with a bag of apparently magical beans capable of supposedly terrible things. 'Whatever you do,' the monk warns, 'don't let them touch water.' Which of course means that when Jack's uncle throws away the beans in a rage, one of them naturally falls into a puddle. Introduced in parallel to Jack is the Princess Isabelle, who like Jack, longs for adventure beyond her social constraints. Thrust together, the two characters's destinies are forever fused when Jack's mysterious bean sprouts into a giant beanstalk, taking himself and Isabelle, along with his house, to a land above the clouds inhabited by murderous giants who have vowed to wreak vengeance on the little people down below. So follows an adventure of literally giant proportions as characters do battle to save the princess, their city and defeat those nasty tall folk.

On the whole, the film is a fast-paced and tongue-in-cheek yarn with its fair bit of scares! Obvious influences from classic film adventures over the years are abound; Peter Jackson's The Return of the King, the third part in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, heavily influencing in the climactic siege of the city, with both the battles of Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith being evident. I went into this film thinking I'd get a decent 12A family romp, with the odd scare thrown in. However, it's actually quite terrifying in parts, the giants making me shrink back in my seat more than once. Perhaps this was just the IMAX 3D though.

Nicholas Hoult plays the part he's meant to - the aesthetically pleasing hero of the tale who only got the job because of his looks. Aside from that his performance is pretty much what the character is - a one-dimensional hero who's only function is to save the day and look good doing it. The best performances come from the more meatier roles. Stanley Tucci never gives a bad performance and this is no exception. He's pitch-perfect as the villainous Roderick, playing him with the required charm, Machievellianism, and a stroke of camp thrown in as well! Ian McShane brings gravitas to the role of the King while Bill Nighy once again channels his Davy Jones, playing the loathsome giant leader, General Fallon. It's also nice to see Ewan McGregor bringing back his Obi-Wan Kenobi accent (one he can actually pull off!).

All in all, the film impressed more than it disappointed. Although disappointing at the box office when it opened yesterday it shows Bryan Singer is back on big-budget form - something which is all the more encouraging as he begins work on the new X-Men film, Days of Future Past. If you're after a rollicking good adventure then you can't go too far astray with Jack the Giant Slayer - yes it's predictable, occasionally cheesy, with some actor's behaving as if they're auditioning for the local village panto, but the pros outweigh the cons. If you fancy a scare, a laugh and a decent two hours at the movies then from one Jack to another - you can't go too wrong.