I KILL GIANTS
Barbara The Giant Slayer
RELEASED 2 July 2017 | 12 | dVd Director anders Walter Cast Madison Wolfe, Zoe saldana, sydney Wade, Imogen Poots
Based on the indie comic by Joe Kelly and JM Ken Niimura, I Kill Giants takes place in an American coastal town which, behind the backs of its residents, is kept safe from deadly giants by a young girl named Barbara (Madison Wolfe). Like Buffy Summers, it’s her life’s mission to save her fellow locals from the supernatural without them knowing – and her weird ways (setting smelly traps, leaving “magical” objects everywhere, her fondness for wearing filthy bunny ears) deeply annoy her elder sister (Imogen Poots), fascinate town newbie Sophia (Sydney Wade) and attract the attention of the school bully. But are giants real? Or is Barbara just bonkers?
There are more than a few touches of uber-weepie A Monster Calls here; if you’ve seen that, you’ll figure out the plot twists well in advance (or you may just work them out regardless). As with Monster, the CGI creatures are secondary to the performance of the young lead. Thankfully Wolfe is great, but her character’s reality is somewhat undermined by the fact that she wisecracks like she’s 35 and works in a sitcom writers’ room. You’ll also grow bored of people constantly yelling “Barbara!” at her. That aside, this is a rewarding, emotional fantasy with its heart in the right place.
Extras None. Jayne Nelson