“Fe fi fo fum. I smell the blood of an Englishman…” were the terrifying words my first grade teacher thundered. There was an eerie silence in the classroom as students leaned forward, hyperventilated and bit their nails with eyes bulging open, intently listening on what was coming next.

“Jack the Giant Slayer” is a modern-day fairytale of “Jack and The Beanstalk.” The newest remake of the storybook keeps some of the old story’s tricks but adds various whole new twists.

The film is set in medieval England where a poor farm boy named Jack, played by Nicholas Hoult, crosses the path of the beautiful and independent princess Isabelle, played by Eleanor Tomlinson. They both grow up with the ancient legend of the war between Arthur the great, known to us as King Arthur, and the fearsome giants that were forced to be trapped in a different land, separated by ruled by mankind for eternity.

Now, years later, Jack rekindles the fight when he unknowingly creates the pathway between human and giant through a powerful bean.

Enraged and full of vengeance for having lost their land to humans, the giants in charge Fe, Fi, Fo and Fum, along with an army of blood thirsty giants, savagely and cold-heartedly make their way back to our world to destroy humans and reclaim the crown they believe is rightfully theirs.

King Brahmwell’s kingdom is in terrible danger and it’s up to Jack, Princess Isabelle and the brave knight Elmont, played by Ewan McGregor, to act quickly and accordingly before they all turn to dust. It’s an almost impossible task for Jack to save the kingdom, its people and win the heart and hand of Princess Isabelle. For a moment towards the end when giant and human are face-to-face, the audience can’t help but cringe at the thought that the giants will undoubtedly win. It would be an extremely close call to be confronted with monstrous giants that are more than triple man’s size. Fortunately, Jack does save the day, ends up marrying the princess, becomes king and sends the giants back to be forever banished once and for all.

The film does feel like one is playing a video game and the audience can’t help but to want to take control of the remote and fight off the giants. However, it’s not exhausting and doesn’t drag on.

Overall, the story line and ending were a bit cliché, but one can’t help but have the feeling of knowing that there was going to be a happy ending since, after all, it’s a fairytale. The acting and cast were phenomenal, the script well-written and – dare I say – somewhat a breath of fresh air.

Raidys’ Rating: 7/10

Raidys’ Stars: 3.5/5

Rated: PG-13

Running Time: 1 hour 54 minutes

Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy