- Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
- Video Codec: AVC MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz) (2D); MVC (3D)
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HDMA 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit), English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
- Subtitles Color: White
- Region: ABC (Region-Free)
- Rating: PG-13
- Run Time: 114 Mins
- Discs: 3 (1 x Blu-ray 3D + 1 x Blu-ray + 1 x DVD)
- Digital Copies: UltraViolet
- Studio: Warner Home Video
- Blu-ray Release Date: June 18, 2013
- List Price: $29.98
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:3/5]
Video Quality
HD: [Rating:5/5]
3D Effect: [Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(The below TheaterByte screen captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray Discs and losslessly compressed in the PNG format. There should be no loss of picture quality with this format. All screen captures should be regarded only as an approximation of the full capabilities of the Blu-ray format.)
The Film
[Rating:3/5]
Jack the Giant Slayer is a reworking of the popular British fairy tail Jack and the Beanstalk, or Jack the Giant Killer. Centuries after a fearsome race of giants were defeated in battle and banished to the upper sky kingdom, life has transitioned back to a sense of normalcy. That is until Jack (Nicholas Hunt), a young farmer, mistakenly causes an enormous beanstalk to take root. It’s after these events that Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson) is carried into the clouds, straight into the hands of a series of giants. Now, it’s up to Jack, as well as Jack’s loyal knight Elmont (Ewan McGregor; Trainspotting; Moulin Rouge!) to stop these giants before it’s too late. What results is a visually impressive film that, unfortunately, lacks an impactful story – one which might require a further viewing, admittedly.
While Director Bryan Singer (probably best known for the excellent The Usual Suspects, as well as X-Men) is a talented man, I can’t but help feeling that his visual creative spark may have run into a few issues here. Even though the physical image is quite impressive (visually speaking,) the main problem with Jack The Giant Slayer is that nothing ever truly excites us. The story is fairly basic – you know the standard person thrust into the hero role, the kind of role everyone scoffs at him being in (only to cheer him on when the time calls for it.) Do know that the thrills and action (especially once Jack ascends the Bean Stalk) are present; however, I just couldn’t get into this one due to a lackluster story.
Video Quality
HD: [Rating:5/5]
3D Effect: [Rating:3.5/5]
Jack the Giant Slayer slams its way onto Blu-ray 3D with a 2.40:1 framed,MVC encoded 3D presentation. First up, the 2D presentation (as we might expect considering Warner’s day-and-date track record) is downright excellent. Visually, a majority of the film uses CGI. Whether the varying creatures, or the locales featured here, all of the CGI felt and looked realistic. Facial close ups during these heavy CGI moments, do result in accurate flesh tones. There’s no instance of contrast levels being pumped up (despite the overly dark color palette.) Speaking of that, the film’s palette does tend to lean toward the darker side of the color spectrum. Despite this, blacks remain strong and accurate, with little crush and good nuance. All in all, I couldn’t really find much to fault here.
Moving to the 3D presentation – well, like most non-animated 3D titles, Jack the Giant Slayer offers up a decent 3D transfer. There are a few moments of ‘3D pop’ (read:. objects in your face), but the overall image seemed to lack the clarity and detail found in the film’s 2D counterpart. Colors, in part because of the image in and of itself, do remain solid. Perhaps due to the strength of the 2D image, I expected more here.
Audio Quality
[Rating:5/5]
Audio-wise, Jack slays (pun intended) with an impressive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) mix. Atmosphere, particularly during a few of the battle moments/creatures roaming around, creates a true sense of a very active sound field. Dialogue is intelligible via the center channel in the front, while the rears are active with a swooping score from John Ottman (that has all your standard ‘action’ cues.) LFE is also quite immersive when called upon, offering up deep, booming low end. All in all, despite the somewhat lackluster film, Warner has put together a fine technical effort on both fronts.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0.5/5]
All included features are presented in High Definition:
- “Become A Giant Slayer” – Serving as an interactive addition to the film, Actor Nicholas Hoult guides the audience with a few behind-the-scenes videos (roughly totaling 40 minutes of additional content.)
- Deleted Scenes – 8:27 worth of deleted scenes, most in unfinished CGI format, are shown.
- Gag Reel – A few gags are shown, mostly of the cast and crew enjoying themselves.
- DVD – A separate DVD of the film has been included.
- Digital Copy – An UltraViolet Digital Copy of the film has been included.
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3.5/5]
Whether or not the 3D edition of Warner’s Jack the Giant Slayer is worth the extra $10 MSRP, totally depends on how much you enjoyed the film. If you found this one to be excellent, then I’d recommend the 3D edition – especially because Warner has included everything the separate 2D only edition has. Everyone else – worthy of a weekend rental.
Additional Screen Captures
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Best Buy:
Purchase Jack the Giant Slayer on Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles on Amazon.com
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Best Buy:
Purchase Jack the Giant Slayer on Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles on Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:3/5]
Video Quality
HD: [Rating:5/5]
3D Effect: [Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2/5]