Yet another retelling of a children’s classic fairy tale, “Jack the Giant Slayer” is a decent work that overcomes the pitfalls of such retellings to provide an entertaining journey for more mature audiences.

Rated PG-13, the movie features intense scenes of action violence, potentially frightening images and brief language that might not be appropriate for younger children, despite the movie’s fantastical childhood theme.

Beginning in the bedrooms of two children, a young farm boy named Jack (Nicholas Hoult) and a young Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson), the story is revealed that long ago, the lands of men and giants collided. 

Brought together by magical beans that connected the two realms, the giants descended from their land within the clouds and attempted to overtake the kingdom of men in pursuit of dominance. The only way the giants were overcome was by the human king, who created a crown made of the stone heart of the slain giant king. With this crown, the giants were at the king’s command, and he sent them back to their realm never to return.

Fast forward to Jack and Isabelle’s teenage years, and the kingdom is once again in peril as Jack acquires the remaining magical beans and connects the realms of men and giants.

Throughout the struggle between men and giants, there are the usual fairy tale plots one would expect: boy falls in love with girl, a valiant knight stands up for his people and a wicked suitor betrays his princess bride to conspire with the enemy for power.

Despite these predictable and run-of-the-mill plots, the viewer is still left with a feeling of compassion for the characters and cheering for the good guys, not merely watching and waiting for the plots to play out.

One character audiences will cheer for the strongest is Elmont (Ewan McGregor), the bravest of the king’s guard. Sporting a hairdo that would make David Beckham jealous, Elmont is committed to king and country and ever the gentlemen in the process. McGregor fits the part extremely well, exuding a charm, charisma and valiance he brings to most any role he plays. 

On the other end of the spectrum, audiences will reel at the villainy of Roderick (Stanley Tucci), Princess Isabelle’s suitor. Tucci’s ability to transform from a seemingly charming man to power-hungry fiend is an easy feat for him that leaves no sympathy for his character.

Unfortunately, paired with such strong performances, Hoult and Tomlinson’s characters fall somewhat flat. 

While Hoult plays the part of naive farm boy in love well, his bravery is blunted by the feats of McGregor, and his love for Tomlinson’s character come across as lackluster.

Tomlinson is convincing as the stifled rebel princess who lusts for adventure and independence, but the chemistry she builds with Jack does not strike at the audiences’ hearts and urge them to cheer for the couple.

Beyond the human characters, the giants are a physical spectacle to behold. The products of intense CGI, every exposed inch of their bodies, and especially every filth-filled pore and cracked tooth of their face, is revealed in stunningly high relief. 

However, the level of detail put into each giant can add up to an overwhelming barrage of CGI that makes the eyes ache if viewed for more than a few minutes.

Add to this the numerous farts, belches, grunts and booger-pickings, and the giants are an offense to the senses, with their foreboding presence diminished and the audience left wondering if they should fear them or laugh at them.

Though “Jack the Giant Slayer” is stunted by a striving balance between childhood fairy tale and quasi-serious drama, the movie is still charming in its message. 

And while the acting might suffer at the hands of the fairy tale nature that dampens realistic expressions, the audience is left honestly rooting for the heroes and cursing the villain, and left with a message of friendship and love expected of an effective fairy tale.

Tim Deters can be reached at 581-2812 or tadeters@eiu.