“Fee, fye, foe, fumm…” When I was a little kid that was an ominous call that meant the giant was coming! In this all grownup version of Jack and the Beanstalk that call is part of a very different twist. Actually, there are a lot of new twists in this new reincarnation. Having recently seen Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters with my husband, Cine Marcos, I was happy to see that although liberties are taken with this childhood fairytale, unlike in the previously mentioned movie, they were respectful enough to make this more a retelling with a fresh new view and not a practically complete re-writing. I felt that with Hansel and Gretel, only the name and some very basic details kept true to the Brother’s Grimm story. Call me old fashioned but that did not make me very happy.
Jack’s story is much more respectful to the original English fairytale. One of the things that surprised Cine Marcos, myself and our friend Maria was how many excellent actors were part of this project. The first obvious character was Stanley Tucci as Roderick, a weasily, conniving Lord, ready to marry the beautiful and adventurous Princess Isabelle played sweetly and bravely by Eleanor Tomlinson. Mr. Tucci never fails to make us love or hate him depending on what character he is playing at the time. But let’s talk about Young Mr. Jack, played by Nicholas Hault. Let’s be honest, he has such an angelic face, but more importantly you see within his face all the wonder, sadness, excitement, dread and love (yes, I said love) that this actor is trying to portray.
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