Fee, Fye, Foe, Fum! This remix of the “Jack and the Beanstalk” folktale is adventurous and reminds us of Biblical accounts, man’s pursuit of God, and the danger of sin.
Spoiler-free review
Jack the Giant Slayer is quite different from the normal “Jack and the Beanstalk” story we’ve heard. It mixes in some elements from the Cornish fairy tale “Jack the Giant Killer.” But the end of Jack the Giant Slayer nicely illustrates how the story changed over time from what they show in the movie to what we know today.
Even though the giants eat people, there isn’t really gore. There’s plenty of violence, but Jack the Giant Slayer also doesn’t take itself too seriously. If your kids are okay with the Harry Potter series, then Jack the Giant Slayer won’t give them problems.
But this remix also contains more magic and darkness than the original story. Monks use magic in search of God, humans try to use the magic to rule, and the giants are blood-thirsty ogre-like creatures who want revenge.
John Ottman’s soundtrack is grand, beautiful, and tense at times. We loved it! You can buy the CD or MP3s from Amazon.com, or purchase from iTunes.
We had mixed feelings about the 3D of Jack the Giant Slayer.
Overall, this was a fun movie that seems fairly appropriate for families if you’re okay with non-gory violence. If you see Jack the Giant Slayer, let us know what you think!
You can also listen to Daniel and his wife’s review of Jack the Giant Slayer in his Once Upon a Time podcast.
The rest of this written and recorded review contains spoilers.
Using magic to find God
In Jack the Giant Slayer, monks wanted to find God and thus used magic to make beans that would take them to heaven. This reminded us of the Tower of Babel from Genesis 11.
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth. [Genesis 11:1–9, ESV]
It’s crazy how many people are searching for their idea of “god” and ignore the clear directions in Scripture. When they did this with the Tower of Babel, God confused their languages. In Jack the Giant Slayer, the monks’ search brought them to “a prison between heaven and earth” that brought death and destruction to the land.
“It’s just a story”
Young Jack and the princess Isabelle were enamored with the stories of the giants from long ago. But Jack’s dad reminded him, “It’s just a story.”
But when Jack asked, “How do you know giant’s aren’t real?” His dad replied very honestly, “I don’t.”
The same challenge is often raised against the Bible. How do we know the Bible is true? Always remember that “proof” outside of Scripture elevates that “proof” to a position of higher authority than the Bible. Instead, the world is full of things that confirm the Bible’s historicity (historical authenticity). Archaeology, science, geology, astronomy, anthropology, and more all scream loudly that the Bible recounts actual historical events that literally happened.
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? [John 3:12, ESV]
So if the Bible is true on all physical counts, then we can also trust it on spiritual and future accounts!
Darkness will consume the light
Once darkness [the giants] get a taste for light, it won’t stop until it consumes the sun.
This reminded me of what secret sin does in us when we don’t deal with it by the power of God’s forgiveness. This connection between these giants and how sin infects our lives reminded me of the children’s book The Shining Sword, which I read when I was a kid. In this book, one’s “besetting sin” is personified as a giant that can only be defeated by that one person when they use the Sword (representative of the Word of God).
“Do you believe in God?”
One of the giants asked this classic question, but it fizzled out into nothing. But it does raise an interesting connection.
If Jack the Giant Slayer was true, what would the monks have believed about the giants? Did they think God created them to be the vile creatures that they were?
Share your feedback!
What did you think of Jack the Giant Slayer? We would like to know, even if just your reactions to the trailer or the topics we shared in this episode. Or what general critical-thinking and entertainment thoughts or questions do you have? Would you like to suggest a movie or TV show for us to give a Christian movie review with critical thinking?
- Comment on the shownotes
- Call (513) 818-2959 to leave a voicemail
- Email feedback@AreYouJustWatching.com (audio files welcome)
- Join our Facebook discussion group.
Where are the real Christians? This movie is demonic & it seems to escape some so -called Christians minds. Read your Bible & find out what God says about “magic” your eyes are a lamp. And the Holy Word of God says ” I will set no wicked thing before my eyes. Psalms 101:3. It also says. That people will call evil good and good bad. God is “Holy & He can’t look upon sin or wickedness. “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: Wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? Habakkuk 1:13 Remember, the devil is the Master of deception & he likes to tell his vision through television. Cannot believe the responses of some Christians. Be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. God’s Word is Pure. It’s the “truth”no matter what you believe. And He upholds “All things by His Word.
Thank you for your feedback, Kelly. I appreciate that you draw the line so stringently when it comes to your stance on magic. I agree that Christians should spurn what is evil and guard ourselves from descending a slippery slope into sin. I also agree that God’s Word is pure and true, and the standard by which all Christians should view their world. That is the point of looking at things from a Christian worldview, especially secular things. The purpose of our podcast, however, is not to bash the secular world for being secular. It’s to help Christians to go beyond mindlessly entertaining themselves (because many Christians do just that) and to apply Christian thinking to everything they expose themselves to in the world. We can completely spurn all things worldly and remove ourselves from the world entirely, and thus become ineffective in reaching the lost world for Christ, or we can teach ourselves to be wise in how we approach the world, and find ways to use the things of the world to communicate the Scriptural truths that so many people need to hear. I agree that we should not accommodate or compromise with evil, but there are times where it is useful to look at what the world is saying and try to use those conversations to reveal Christ. Some of our movie reviews are meant to show how the secular approach in the underlying philosophies of the stories are flawed when seen from a Christian worldview. Some of our reviews look for comparisons and contrasts with a biblical understanding of the topics exposed by the movies. I certainly hope that you do not see us as in any way endorsing the occult because that is very far from the intent of our podcast. I appreciate the heads-up, though, and we will be careful to not “endorse” the “evil of the world” as we attempt to teach critical thinking in our movie reviews. God bless you and thanks again for your comment.