and the land of the giants.

Eddie Marsan, left, Ewan McGregor, Nicolas Hoult and Stanley Tucci brace for action in the fairy-tale update 'Jack the Giant Slayer.' "Fee, Fye, Foe, Fumm. Ask not whencethe thunder comes..." Not quite the way you remember it? That's all right. The new "Jack the GiantSlayer" does take some liberties. But then so did Abbott and Costello. And BugsBunny.And, after all, the classic fairytale not only survived all those changes,but thrived,hermes birkin. So don't worry. It's in good shape here, too, although - like thegiants themselves - it's occasionally a bit too big, loud and crude for its owngood.The adaption comes courtesy of a smart script (by Christopher McQuarrie,among others) which cleverly expands the myth, and the direction of BryanSinger, which adds not only his usual visual flair but a thrilling,swashbuckling pace.The two Jersey guys have collaborated before (on "Valkyrie" and "The UsualSuspects," among other projects) and worked apart (McQuarrie's "Jack Reacher,"Singer's "Superman Returns,Louis Vuitton handbags.") Here,pbrownlee@wichitaeagle.com.,cheap true religion, they're back together and back to boldadventure.The story rewrites the old tale a bit, by giving us not one giant, but anentire race, and adding in a magic crown, too. That's all covered in a quick,animated, fairy-tale preface, cut cleverly between its bedtime reading in twohouseholds, one royal and one common.Jump ahead a decade or so, and it's time for a teenage Jack to sell thefamily horse for a handful of magic beans,cheap true religion. (Poor Jack never was the bestbargainer.) And for one of those beans to take root - and, eventually, to takeJack up into the clouds, and the land of the giants.What's smart about the script is how it weds that material to the sort ofSaturday-matinee fun Errol Flynn movies used to provide. Like the princess(Eleanor Tomlinson), being wed against her will. The heroic captain of theguard. And the black-hearted usurper.The script sets up the situation and characters nicely, and the actors areterrific. The talented Nicholas Hoult - who just recently shuffled through thezombie romance "Warm Bodies" - is far livelier here as our tentatively heroicJack,Gucci Outlet, and Stanley Tucci makes a fine villain.Even better is Ewan McGregor as the dashing soldier who leads the expeditioninto the giants' lair. McGregor has always had both youthful good looks and alight touch,We need to have a fresh dream., and both serve him well in a part that could too easily slip intocamp.Singer's direction is lively too, adding visual jokes (there's a quickglimpse of the giants' famous talking harp) and orchestrating a few terrificbattle scenes. If there's a real disappointment here, it's the giantsthemselves - too gargantuan, and too obviously computer-generated, to have thefeel of almost plausible myth.And at times, the tone of the film wobbles a bit,cheap soccer cleats. Like a lot of recentfantasies - "Red Riding Hood," "Snow White and the Huntsman," "Hansel andGretel: Witch Hunters" - there are awkward attempts to go after an olderaudience. Those films emphasized the gore, and grimy unhappiness; this onedrags in some stupid vulgarities.Truly timeless fantasies - as Peter Jackson's Tolkien films have proven -don't need those sort of rude embellishments,By getting a significant Dell backer. Although those updates are lessintrusive than some other films' "improvements," they're just as unwarranted.Because there's a reason that all these stories have all been told, andretold, endlessly. And it's because the way they tap into eternal fears letadults feel like children again - and they way they then vanquish those fearslet children feel, briefly, just a tiny more grown up.

Note: Newhouse News critic Stephen Whitty wrote this review._________JACK THE GIANT SLAYER3 stars, out of 5Snapshot: The old fairy-tale istransformed into a swashbuckling epic, as Jack -- and some dashing soldiers --fight an entire race of giants.What works: Nicholas Hoult makesa good youthful hero, and Ewan McGregor is a delight as an in-like-Flynncaptain of the guard.What doesn't: Like its villains,it's sometimes too big, too loud and too crude for its own good.Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Ewan McGregor,Stanley Tucci. Director: BryanSinger. Rating: PG-13, for intensescenes of fantasy action violence, some frightening images and brief language. Runtime: 1 hour 54 minutes,true religion outlet. Where: Find New Orleans showtimes at www.Nola.com/movies,soccer cleats.