[yasr_overall_rating]
Barbara Thorson struggles through life by escaping into a fantasy life of magic and monsters.
I am a huge Harry Potter fan, not of the books but of the movies. I’m not knocking the books just putting my personal preference out there. My favorite is “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” as that is the film where I felt the young actors, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and the rest of their co-stars, really came into their own and started giving legitimate performances, as opposed to them being younger and more adorable in the first four movies, that only works for so long. When I first saw the trailer for “I Kill Giants,” and saw the caption, “From the Producers of Harry Potter,” I was sold. The trailer gives the impression that a young loner, Barbara (Madison Wolfe), who lives with her two brothers and older sister in a large old house that overlooks the ocean, is also the town’s savior, unbeknownst to everyone who lives there. She has a magic pouch that is filled with potions and enchantments that she uses to kill giants who occasionally try to attack the town but naturally, nobody else can see them.
Sounds great, right? You know how the rest of the story is supposed to go, she befriends a new girl, Sophia (Sydney Wade), who has just moved to town from the U.K., they become besties, she opens up and tells her about the giants, Sophia wants so badly to believe her but with no proof, she just can’t, and then at the end, Barbara wards off one of the biggest giants to ever set foot on land and the whole town realizes just how important she really is and they hail her as their savior! That is where you would think the story is going, and also hope, because, let’s be honest, that could be another magical franchise right there and who better to produce them than the makers of Harry Potter. Well, unfortunately, that is not where the story goes, instead, it becomes so unconventional, and not in a good way, that it becomes more difficult to comprehend as the movie progresses until the “BIG” reveal at the end. I won’t give it away here (although part of me feels I should as it would save you time and money renting or buying the film) but when the final credits begin to roll, you find yourself just staring at the screen, blankly. I watched it with my 11-year-old nephew Martin, the age range that the film is obviously marketed at, and he just looked at me and said, “what the heck?” My sentiments exactly.
Everything that happens is a metaphor for what Barbara is going through in her life and I felt that was a complete cop-out on the producers’ parts. The movie is really a family drama disguised as a fantastical adventure and as a result, you can’t help but walk away from it feeling that you were lied to and that the film you wound up watching, was falsely advertised. Another aspect of the movie that just doesn’t work, is the central protagonist, Barbara. While she is very much a recluse and very eccentric in her behavior, especially towards her own siblings, she is very unlikable. Even when the new girl, Sophia, tries to befriend her, on more than one occasion, Barbara insists on keeping her at an arm’s length, along with everyone else. At school, the new teacher, Mrs. Mollé (Zoe Saldana), immediately senses that Barbara is an outsider and when she tries to reach out to her, Barbara continuously bombards her with sarcastic and disparaging remarks, and at one point, even slaps her in the face. The whole point of a story like this is to present the central character as someone who is sympathetic and who the audience can relate to, even empathize with, but I found myself wanting to pull a “Commando” on her and drop her off the nearest cliff. I’m pretty sure that is not what the filmmakers had in mind.
In terms of acting, the cast is uniformly excellent. Newcomer Madison Wolfe as Barbara, especially at the end of the film, when we realize exactly what is going on in her life, is afflicted yet surprisingly compassionate. Zoe Saldana and Imogen Poots, as Barbara’s older sister Karen, are responsive and softhearted and bring great depth to characters that could have easily become caricatures in the hands of less capable actors. It’s just a pity that director Anders Walter couldn’t make up his mind as to what kind of story he wanted to tell. In doing a little research, “I Kill Giants” never got a theatrical release and for a picture that boasts that it was made by the makers of Harry Potter, that should have been a warning sign. If you want to spend a magical night at home with the family, watch Harry Potter instead, but if you are up for a strong dose of real life sprinkled with sadness, heartbreak, and cheerlessness, then, by all means, check this out.
Now available on Blu-ray & DVD
