Jack the Giant Slayer
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: March 1, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
51
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 37 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
20
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperFeb 27, 2013
A rousing, original and thoroughly entertaining adventure. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaFeb 27, 2013
One reason it works so well: The film always looks believable, and it’s easy to get wrapped into Singer’s fairy-tale world. Read full review
80
Village VoiceScott FoundasFeb 26, 2013
By the standards of today's bombastic "event" movies, this is a refreshingly modest endeavor—one in which the main event is the skillful holding of our attention, all the way from "Once upon a time" to "Happily ever after." Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliFeb 28, 2013
Jack the Giant Slayer is an enjoyable fantasy/adventure whose magic is partially undermined by marginal 3-D. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTom RussoFeb 28, 2013
A giant chef character is an icky bit of inspiration (complete with booger humor to soothe any shell-shocked young’uns in the audience), and the monsters are key to an epic-scale third act. If you thought the tale ended when Jack clambered back down from the skies, then you haven’t given it as much thought as Singer. Read full review
70
The New YorkerDavid DenbyMar 18, 2013
Singer honors a child's desire not only for adventure but for noble deeds, for loyalty and friendship. [18 March 2013, p.87]
70
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyFeb 26, 2013
There's little facetious comedy a la the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series. It's all traditional stuff, done well but without an original spark. Read full review
67
The PlaylistKevin JagernauthFeb 26, 2013
Ultimately, it’s hard and a bit pointless to nitpick Jack The Giant Slayer because it never sets out to be or presents itself as anything more than a slightly beefed up fairy tale. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaFeb 28, 2013
Peter Jackson devotees may not like to hear this, but Jack the Giant Slayer is far more accomplished, visually speaking, than The Hobbit: An Unexpected Snooze, I mean, Journey. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia PuigFeb 28, 2013
Vivid visuals are the key to this handsome and moderately entertaining adventure. And the tone is more fairy-tale appropriate than video-game friendly, though the effects-laden swashbuckling sometimes obscures efforts at light whimsy. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle SmithFeb 28, 2013
This digitally tricked-out fairy tale makes for a reasonably engaging kids’ fantasy, but at best we’re talking about a junior varsity “Lord of the Rings.” It’s March. What did you expect? Read full review
63
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreFeb 26, 2013
For all Singer’s expertise at making the fantastic real, all we’re left with here is an expensive-looking bauble – worth looking over, but not really anything to treasure. Read full review
60
EmpireDavid HughesMar 18, 2013
Far from the giant mess you’d expect from the delayed release, late title change and a production history as muddled as the source material, Singer’s tall tale is snatched from disaster by an all-hell-breaks-loose third act. Read full review
60
Total FilmPaul BradshawMar 11, 2013
Not one for cynics or bedwetters, if you’re after a ripping, roaring, thigh-slapping giant of a fairytale, Bryan Singer’s blockbuster panto will be right up your beanstalk. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith UhlichMar 2, 2013
So many blockbuster movies are impersonal, micromanaged hashes that Jack, with its bare minimum of craft and commitment, comparatively comes off like a diamond in the rough. Read full review
60
NPRIan BuckwalterMar 1, 2013
The film's main problem — apart from its predictability and the sometimes unconvincing and cartoonish CGI for the army of giants — is that it never entirely commits to what kind of fantasy movie it wants to be. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinFeb 27, 2013
It’s fast, rousing, and blessedly brief. Read full review
58
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerMar 1, 2013
Not awful, not wonderful, Jack the Giant Slayer is a midrange fairy tale epic that’s a lot more ho-hum than fee-fi-fo-fum. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanFeb 28, 2013
This is how a fairy-tale movie gives us our money's worth today. Even if once upon a time, it was called overkill. Read full review
58
Film.comJordan HoffmanFeb 27, 2013
It is highly likely you’ll forget the movie by the time you go to bed. Read full review
50
TimeMary PolsMar 2, 2013
The technology is undeniably there to make a credible beanstalk fly into the heavens, and giants that are utterly grotesque and vividly threatening. But how about something we can take our kids too? Doesn’t anyone want them to be there? Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyFeb 28, 2013
While it’s fine for a director to explore his childhood inspirations, you hope he would bring something a bit more personal to it. Instead, Jack the Giant Slayer, while well-crafted, feels entirely generic. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternFeb 28, 2013
Jack's problem is that he's a commoner, but the movie's problem is that its script is commoner still, an enchantment-free pretext for animated action, straight-ahead storytelling and ersatz romance. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla DargisFeb 28, 2013
If it drifts with increasing frequency it’s because, well, this finally is just a digitally souped-up, one-dimensional take on Jack and the Beanstalk. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldConnie OgleFeb 28, 2013
A competent but utterly unnecessary retelling of the story. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsFeb 28, 2013
The film is ruled by sound and fury signifying an attempt to launch a new franchise. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter TraversFeb 28, 2013
It's a bloodless, gutless piece of PG-13 fodder, geared to go down easy. That it does. It practically evaporates while you're watching it, lulling when you most want it to levitate. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleLouis BlackFeb 27, 2013
A terrific cast, intelligent direction, state-of-the-art special effects, a strong story, and skilled narrative construction all end up being much ado about not very much. Read full review
50
VarietyJustin ChangFeb 26, 2013
Jack the Giant Slayer feels, unsurprisingly, like an attempt to cash in on a trend, recycling storybook characters, situations and battle sequences to mechanical and wearyingly predictable effect. Read full review
42
Portland OregonianMarc MohanFeb 28, 2013
As is, the slapstick humor and mild repartee won't please many with a mindset above that of a 10-year-old, while the level of (admittedly fantastical) violence might be a bit much for the pre-teen set. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonFeb 27, 2013
The extra shading is nice, but it doesn’t change the degree to which Jack The Giant Slayer feels like a paint-by-numbers story. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanFeb 28, 2013
A director as talented as Singer (“The Usual Suspects,” “X-Men”) should be working to raise popcorn movies to a higher level. Instead, this uninspired effort feels like a colossal letdown. Read full review
37
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanMar 1, 2013
Too scary for very young children, yet too silly for most older fans of director Bryan Singer’s earlier forays into the Superman and X-Men franchises, “Jack” seems designed to appeal to a very narrow, and possibly illusory, demographic: the mature moppet. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranFeb 28, 2013
With some momentary exceptions, Jack the Giant Slayer simply isn't any fun. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubFeb 28, 2013
By the end, I was adding my own internal "Deadwood"-style profanities to McShane's clean dialogue. "For the sake of the (God-@#$%) kingdom, cut it (the @#$%) down!" Movies about mile-high beanstalks shouldn't require additional audience imagination. Read full review
25
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallFeb 27, 2013
Jack the Giant Slayer is merely cable TV fodder waiting to happen and not worth a hill of beans, magic or otherwise. Read full review
12
Slant MagazineR. Kurt OsenlundFeb 27, 2013
This epic waste of $190 million plunders the grab bag of overused plotlines, failing to put its own stamp on much of anything. Read full review
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