Life lessons are brought to mind in the movie I Kill Giants, a teen oriented drama that should appeal to women of all ages, now on Blu-ray and DVD. The film takes you into the mind of a teenager who has to deal with odds beyond her own comprehension. In her fight to keep away the daemons in which she deals, speaks volumes about how damaging they may be. Acting, directing and production value adds to make it a huge winner.
Young Barbara (Madison Wolfe) has had a normal life up until now as she has run into an impasse that controls her every thought and being. With her working sister Karen (Imogen Poots) in charge of the family, little contact with her has not helped the troubles that have been taking control of Barbara’s life. The challenges are mounting and they won’t go away as each day another monster is added to her fight to save what she covets most. Dealing with bullies doesn’t help her mental situation either and having friends have become a rarity.
One day while on the beach she meets Sophia (Sydney Wade), a transfer student that has just entered her middle school. They chat and Barbara feels the girl is trust worthy of her task to save the town from monsters. When Barbara gets sent to school psychologist Mrs. Molle (Zoe Saldana), she feels her world is being invaded by a giant that cannot be stopped.
Director Anders Walter takes the helm of this complicated story that’s’ the result of a graphic novel by Joe Kelly and Ken Niimura. He moves his film along building up suspense, interesting characters, realistic problems and spinning them into a heartbreaking story with a lot of magnetism.
Kelly’s screenplay is a very compelling, one that keeps his audience involved with Barbara’s quest. As each scene develops another problem arises to which Barbara must face and either get help from Sophia or go at it alone. I like the pace of his story and the problems and obstacles Barbara has to face to get to her end goal. His story is not too different here than real life except for the images that Barbara fears. When all is said and done, the movie becomes a doorway to the psychological effects that take place and the road the person must travel to combat them.
The acting by the whole cast is very good, but without Madison Wolfe’s outstanding performance as the disheartened yet determined young pre-teen, the film would not have worked. Facing every impediment, Wolfe’s Barbara digs deep to find answers and as each of the other characters try to help, she stays the task no matter how unbelieving they may be.
BONUS EXTRAS:
Both the DVD and Blu-ray includes the bonus features:
(The following features include spoilers so it’s recommended that you should watch the movie first)
“The Making of I Kill Giants” Director Anders Walter, Graphic Novel Artist Ken Niimura, Screenwriter Joe Kelly talk about how the film came about and Zoe Saldana, Imogen Poots, Madison Wolfe, Sydney Wade and Rory Taylor talk about their roles and the meaning of them.
“Anatomy of a Scene” Takes you step by step through a major scene and plot point of the film.
“I Kill Giants Graphic Novel: Chapter 1” shows a chapter of the actual graphic novel to give you some semblance of where Joe Kelly gets the attitude of Barbara throughout the film.
“Photo Gallery” 19 photos show scenes from the film.
I Kill Giants has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains rude language, disturbing behavior, scary images, and thematic material. Some of the scenes may be a bit much for the very young so be cautious when deciding to watch the video with them present.
FINAL ANALYSIS: I recommend the film highly for pre-teens, teens and mothers of the age group. (4 out of 5 Stars)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Zoe Saldana, Madison Wolfe, Imogen Poots, Sydney Wade, Rory Jackson
Director: Anders Walter
Screenplay by: Joe Kelly
Graphic novel by: Joe Kelly and Ken Niimura
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains rude language, disturbing behavior, scary images, thematic material
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Thriller
Running Time: 1 hr. 46 min.
Video Release Date: May 22, 2018
Original Theatrical Release Date: March 23, 2018
Language: English
Reviewed Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.40:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of Discs: 1 disc
Distributed by: RLJE Films
Released in: Blu-ray, DVD
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
