Ewan McGregor’s $197 million fantasy bomb praised by VFX artists is one of his most underrated movies

Ewan McGregor has starred in many great works of sci-fi and fantasy, But not all of his high-profile roles have garnered great success. Many fantasy movies are almost perfect, but lack some elements that would separate them from the best of the genre. Some of McGregor’s projects fall into this category, even when their budget and visual effects are substantial and impressive. However, a film’s box office performance does not necessarily mean that it is not worth watching. Revisiting some of McGregor’s most underrated fantasy movies is a great opportunity for fans to rediscover his work.

Certain fantasy movies bomb at the box office but have comebacks, and Jack the Giant Slayer is no exception. This could be because the budget for the movie was so high that it was difficult to recover. Conversely, the film’s marketing may have failed to convey its message properly, meaning viewers were confused by the premise and didn’t see it. Today, a movie that gets a second wind of popularity years later has become more common than ever, thanks to streaming services. on streaming, Audiences stumble upon overlooked hidden gems from popular actors and filmmakers Like McGregor Jack the Giant Slayer.

What about Ewan McGregor’s Jack the Giant Slayer

Before Disney made fairy tales come to life, Jack the Giant Slayer came first

Most audiences will recognize the bones of the story in Jack the giant killer. Starring Nicholas Hoult as Jack, the story expands on the familiar fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk With great and dramatic results. Hoult is joined by Eleanor Tomlinson, who plays Princess Isabelle, Jack’s love interest and ally fighting the giants, with McGregor playing the knight Elmont, who joins them on their quest. In the movie, Jack and Isabelle are on parallel journeys, with Jack feeling suffocated by his life as a peasant listening to his uncle and Isabelle feeling suffocated by her overbearing father, the king.

This quickly leads to a budding connection between the pair when Jack gets his hands on a pair of magic beans and must travel up the beanstalk to save Isabel as she is led up the stalk into the land of giants. Lord Roderick (Stanley Tucci), who designs to use a magical crown to force the giants into submission, Joins Jack and Elmont on the trek and steals most of the remaining beans from him. Although Roderick is subdued by the leader of the giants, Fallon, the giant takes the crown for himself as the beanstalk is cut down, and Jack, Isabelle and Elmont make it to safety.

However, the tale does not end there, as Fallon and the giants find the beans Roderick stole and use them to return to Earth and take control of the world. Jack flees to Isabel’s side in the castle, and the pair prepare for a showdown with the giants, in which Jack outsmarts Fallon and takes the crown for himself. finally, He and Isabelle get married and live happily ever after. The story flashes forward to the future, where Jack and Isabelle’s story has become the fairy tale audiences know and love, but the giants still secretly rule the sky.

Why the VFX of Jack The Giant Slayer is so good

For fantasy movies, the visual effects are critical elements of the project

Jack the Giant Slayer was initially panned for the visual effects, as after the characters climb the beanstalk, they are in the largely computer-generated world of the giants for a long time. A huge amount of time and money went into creating the giants, the beans and the realm in the sky where the giants live. The actors who portrayed the giants were brought to life with motion capture technology To make the giant seem as real and alive as the human characters. Once the movie was in post-production, the release had to be postponed to get the effects just right.

Recently, VFX experts have praised Jack the Giant Slayer For how dynamic the animation of the giants is and the fact that they move quickly and assuredly through their world. Although there are dated aspects of the visuals in this movie, they hold up better than many of the contemporary works that have completely faded from memory. Jack the Giant Slayer Takes the size, weight and movement of the giants into consideration, Creating a realistic and immersive experience for the audience. It’s interesting to look back on this period of filmmaking and how VFX has evolved.

Why Jack the Giant Slayer is an underrated Ewan McGregor movie

There’s more to love about Jack the Giant Slayer than the VFX

The performances are some of the strongest parts of Jack the Giant Slayer Beyond the visuals that critics have warmed to over time. A young Hoult continues his own life McGregor, who gets to play the role of the rogue hero next to Jack’s well-meaning and sensitive nature. McGregor also has some of the funniest lines of dialogue in the project And is not afraid to make a fool of himself in the role. In addition, Hoult and Tomlinson have strong chemistry as Jack and Isabelle, and their budding romance is easy to believe.

Jack the Giant Slayer Also featuring Tucci, Ian McShane and Bill Nighy, rounding out the cast are great character actors who make the most of their roles. Apart from the performances, Jack the Giant Slayer was also ahead of his time in anticipating how popular live-action fairy tales would become and that retellings of old stories would take hold of the cultural mindset. The action is well choreographed, and the story is decently paced, Making it an above-average addition to the action-adventure genre. Its ability to incorporate so much new technology bolsters the existing elements.

Why Jack the Giant Slayer bombed at the box office

The box office earnings barely covered the cost of production

Jack the Giant Slayer made $197,687,603 at the worldwide box office against a budget of $195,000,000 (via Box Office Mojo). Although for a less expensive movie, making almost 200 million dollars would be a success, it was a massive failure for the film that was supposed to be a blockbuster. This did not help The release of the film was pushed back several times for the VFX and was retitled from Jack the giant killer to appeal to younger audiences. However, the film also did not really appeal to adult viewers, which left him in an awkward position.

No single person or group can be blamed for the failure of Jack the Giant SlayerHow the movie fell victim to many common pitfalls of a big-budget fantasy project. Most audiences expected a family-friendly retelling of the classic story, and the movie was too violent and too suggestive to be appropriate for children. A PG-13 rating is pushing it for a film intended for families, And there was not enough of the original narrative in the story. As fairy tale retailing has become more popular, the underrated project may be better today.