Highly Overrated But Still Good

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

OMG did I wait for the movie to end. The tempo of the movie is very slow and events unroll boringly. This may very well have been a magical TV movie but for a movie to watch in one sitting there is no action or drama to keep you awake. You just sit there hoping that there was a climax on the way and it never comes.Of course this was a family movie, too, so I know I shouldn't have expected black humor or scary thrills.In many places the script isn't transparent... you kind of start to think of the writers' motives on including a twist in the plot which isn't good. It just wipes away the movie magic.The actors could've tried harder as well. I know they were making a movie about a fairy tale but this was supposed to be the "real story" so a bit less overacting would've been good. Many of the characters seemed unnecessary, like the pantheon in the trial.I liked the cheating and conniving ancestor, though. He was a nice touch, worth 1 point, 1 point comes for a good idea and 1 for the investment in fantasy.

Well that's 4 hours of my life I'll never get back. Shame really as it's a good idea for a film. If only it'd been 2 hours rather than 2 x 2 hours. At one point the film goes so slowly it almost stops.The fairytale of Jack and The Beanstalk was a lie based on the truth. The 15th generation son of Jack has to pay the price for the crimes of his distant relative 400 years ago who stole the goose that lays the golden eggs and the harp that plays for the goose to lay from the big FRIENDLY giant.The land of the giants has suffered terribly, crops have failed because the harp isn't there to play the special music and the climate has changed because the golden eggs where burned in a furnace to power the climate of the land.As I say, nice idea but tooooooooooooooooo looooooooooooooooong!

I watched this movie all in one go and I must say I didn't move from my chair. Modine and Mia Sara's performances are excellent as are the rest. Sara plays the girl from another world who comes to Modine to help him find the truth and help her bring welfare back to her people. Modine slowly will discover where the riches of his ancestors came from. Then he will try to right the wrongs and end the curse to his family. The family moves between two worlds. Our world and a fantastic one. The scenery and the landscapes are wonderful and there is also some mistery and twists till the end. The movie addresses the greed of people and how they would go all the way just to satisfy themselves ignoring the needs of others. I highly recommend it.

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** Brian Henson's remake of this fable is reminiscent of Michael Cohn's 1997 `Snow White: A Tale of Terror' (Starring Sigourney Weaver). I was thoroughly enter- tained by the original overlay of treachery, unrequited love, larceny and homicide. Or is gianticide a word? I also enjoyed the stellar cameos by Daryl Hannah (Thespee) and Richard Attenborough (Magog). Vanessa Redgrave does a great job of setting the tone at the throughout the movie with her grave, atmospheric narration. Mia Sara hasn't aged since `Legend'. The pantheon of Celtic and eastern deities /giants were quite a sight to behold; Gargan with his gaudy head piece, the Stag-headed Cernos and Thor's hefty hammer. This somewhat well-paced movie offers an intriguing challenge to the moral veracity of the standard fables. I said 'somewhat' because the conclusion sagged a little when Magog allowed Mondine to return to earth to live happily ever after with Jack. It seems the ending was conveniently rounded off to meet the status quo. I suppose Henson felt the permanent separation of the two may be a wee bit taxing on the audience. But generally, the movie was a good Sunday-evening fare. Perhaps Brian Henson (and the likes of Michael Cohn) will also care to exhume the other fables from the grimory. That would be highly entertaining.If you had the ill fortune of missing part2, the DVD and VHS is available.