The real hero of the film, however, is the crown. Not the monarchy—the literal prop. The film hinges on a magical crown that controls the giants. In a weirdly political subtext no one asked for, the moral of the story is: Don’t let a commoner marry the princess; let him become a general instead.
So why did it bomb?
Because it couldn't decide what it wanted to be. One moment, it’s a grimdark Lord of the Rings knockoff where a two-headed giant smashes a castle wall. The next, it’s a slapstick comedy where Ewan McGregor’s preening knight does a flying leap that defies physics. Nicholas Hoult plays Jack with a sturdy Everyman charm, but he’s up against Eleanor Tomlinson’s princess, who spends most of the film in a perpetual state of "damsel in distress" despite wielding a mean crossbow. giant slayer movie