I really didn’t know what to expect with this movie.  Having seen the trailer several times, I knew there’d be giants squashing things… and Jack, but that was pretty much all I took away from it.  Considering that it seems to be based on the old English folktale of Jack and the Beanstalk, that can easily be read to a kid in 15 minutes, rather than the even older folktale, Jack the Giant Killer, which can be turned into a much longer – grosser (is that a word?) story.

So instead of going with a smarter Jack from the Jack the Giant Killer folktale, they went with the kind of uninteresting Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk.  Okay.  Funny thing, the original title was “Jack the Giant Killer”.

In order to stretch a 15 minute movie into a 114 minute movie – there needed to be a few plot additions – well a lot of them.  Like more than just one giant villain.  Okay.

I always like a good date night, so the hubby and I accepted the invitation to go check out the press screening.  Halfway through it, I was wishing that the boy could have come with us – or just he and I.  The hubby enjoyed it, but we didn’t leave the movie talking about it like we do for most of our date night movies.  One of the great things about taking the boy to the movies is watching his reaction to it, and chatting with him afterwards.  Same thing with the hubby. This one, the boy would have talked about.

And what’s not to talk about for a 13 year old? Larger than life boogers, the occasional epic poot? C’mon. He’d have loved it. There’s nothing like watching a movie targeted at teens, next to a teen who is beyond excited. The hubby and I on the other hand, we needed a little more out of a date night movie.

Synopsis: An ancient war is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack (Nicholas Hoult), into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom and its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend… and gets the chance to become a legend himself.

Did it earn the PG-13 rating? The more that I see that kids are exposed to, the more unsure I am.  I wouldn’t have taken my smallest who are 6 and 7 to see it.  For the 13 year old, it doesn’t have anything that would make me blush or shift in my seat if I were next to him.  There’s a good bit of killing, but 99% of the human killing is either off screen, or implied.  A couple of kisses, but no nudity or sex.

Bottom line, should you go see it? Hmmmmm.  I would say yes, because some movies need to be on a big screen for you to get the most out of it.  The special effects are pretty good, but if you are going for some deep story, or to teach your kids a moral lesson that you haven’t found a creative way to get across to them – this isn’t your movie.  If you are looking for pure entertainment for young teens that you won’t fall asleep in, and an opportunity to be the cool parent – they’ll like you for taking them.  The 3D isn’t really necessary, but it’s alright.

Should I take the kids to see it? I don’t take my small ones to PG-13 movies.  I didn’t start letting the oldest see PG-13 movies until he was 13, but you have to know your kid.  He reads comic books, and they can get pretty gross sometimes, so gross doesn’t really phase him.  If you didn’t have a sitter for a 10 year old, they probably wouldn’t have nightmares if you took them to see it with an older child.  Nothing terribly disturbing here – at least not more disturbing than the actual fairy tale!

More about the movie:

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, Stanley Tucci

Director: Bryan Singer

Acclaimed filmmaker Bryan Singer directs the 3D epic action adventure “Jack the Giant Slayer,” starring Nicholas Hoult (“X-Men: First Class”) in the title role. The film also stars Eleanor Tomlinson as Princess Isabelle; Stanley Tucci (“Captain America: The First Avenger”) as the deceitful Lord Roderick; Ian McShane (“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” HBO’s “Deadwood”) as the besieged King Brahmwell; Bill Nighy (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”) as the giants’ leader, General Fallon; and Ewan McGregor (“Star Wars,” “The Ghost Writer”) as palace guard Elmont.

Singer directs from a screenplay by Darren Lemke and Christopher McQuarrie and Dan Studney, story by Darren Lemke & David Dobkin. The film is produced by Neal Moritz, David Dobkin, Bryan Singer, Patrick McCormick and Ori Marmur, with Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Alex Garcia, Toby Emmerich, Richard Brenner, Michael Disco and John Rickard serving as executive producers.

The creative filmmaking team includes Singer’s longtime collaborators, director of photography Newton Thomas Sigel (“X-Men,” “Superman Returns”) and editor John Ottman (“X2,” “Superman Returns”). The production designer is Gavin Bocquet (“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”).

A New Line Cinema presentation, in association with Legendary Pictures, “Jack the Giant Slayer” opens March 1, 2013 and will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

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Disclosure: My husband and I were given passes to see this movie for the purpose of writing a review.  As always, my opinions are my own.  For more information click on “About”.