Why So Blu?

Film 

I Kill Giants stars Zoe Saldana, Madison Wolfe, and Imogen Poots. Danish director Anders Walter makes his big screen feature film debut. The film is based on the graphic novel by Joe Kelly and Ken Niimura. Joe Kelly also wrote the screenplay.  Young Barbara (Wolfe) has a very active imagination. She is on a quest to safe guard her world from giants. There are several breeds of giants that have special abilities and different methods of attack. Barbara spends her time mainly outdoors away from her dysfunctional family. School is no better as she is constantly bullied throughout. Her teachers also look down towards her as eccentric.

Mrs. Mollé (Saldana) is the new school psychologist and wants to get to know what is wrong with Barbara. She wants to see if she can get to the bottom of Barbara’s social detachment. Barbara is not about to let outsiders in on what makes her tick, so she escapes further into her own imagination and to stop the giants of that world.

Writing about I Kill Giants is somewhat a strange one, because on a technical level, the film rocks. The acting, visual effects, cinematography, music, etc., are all top notch. My issues are with the story and its structure. I sat there watching the film and thought it was easily accessible but the way it’s set-up is quite odd. We’re given the origin of the giants while shifting into Barbara’s reality, which is harsh. There’s something there that is triggering her condition. She’s obviously suffering from some sort mental illness. The cause of it is not known but alluded to. The issue with that is we have to wait until the very end to see what the issue was. I think an editorial decision should have been made to have that put in much earlier.

With that being said, the film has some nice moments of fantastical adventure. Barbara is a badass in the world of giants and titans. She carries weaponry and is a survivalist of sorts while venturing throughout the hazardous terrain. The level of acting by the youngsters featured is also top tier. I just think that the biggest issue with the film is how its ultimately structured. I Kill Giants also runs a bit long in the tooth. Considering the subject matter and all – they could have trimmed a few minutes here and there. I remember watching it and thinking that when a pivotal part of the story was revealed and we were heading for its conclusion there was about twenty-five minutes left.

Now let’s not mistake I Kill Giants is an unwatchable and terrible film. I won’t go so far as to say that it is unwatchable. It’s worth a rental just to see some of the fantastical elements in play. The acting is above average. The story is where it gets iffy and maybe folks should read the graphic novel first. The last time I checked – the entire graphic novel run was about 300 pages long, so talk about depth.

Video 

Encoding: AVC/MPEG-4

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Clarity/Detail: Contrast and sharpness levels looks great, with only a bit of washed out scenes popping out. In its defense, the film does take place near the ocean, so the mist and waves can contribute to the effect.

Depth: Certain scenes are photographed and framed so well it feels like you’re looking at painting. Then again, it was adapted from the graphic novel, so…

Black Levels: There are quite a few scenes that take place in the dark and it only crushes slightly – nothing major.

Color Reproduction: The color palette varies from bright and colorful to cold and muted, which is great.

Flesh Tones: Everyone looked natural and the transfer showcases this.

Noise/Artifacts: Noise artifacts and noise were not a problem.

Audio 

Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Dynamics: I Kill Giants has a very robust soundtrack. It falls a bit short on being reference but when the giants themselves hit the screen get ready for some major rumble. It’s pretty fantastic.

Low Frequency Extension: The LFE subwoofer channel will definitely get a workout. There are plenty of scenes that emphasize low frequency extension.

Surround Sound Presentation: The rear channels get a nice workout all due to the environments that the film takes place in. Ambience, voices, sound effects, wildlife, etc., sound great and give it a vibrant soundscape.

Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue levels are great. Voices were nice and warm and absent of distortion and clipping.

Extras 

I Kill Giants has a few special features worthy of note. Having not read the graphic novel before — the first chapter is provided. The artwork is fantastic. The making-of and anatomy of the scene featurette go into some detail on what went into making the film. A photo gallery rounds out the special features on this Blu-ray.

• The Making of I Kill Giants 
• Anatomy of a Scene
• I Kill Giants Graphic Novel Chapter 1
• Photo Gallery

Summary 

I Kill Giants gets kudos on effort. It’s not a great film at all but does get some elements right. I just wish it knew what kind of film it was trying to be. The Blu-ray, however, looks and sounds great. The special features are scarce but that’s life. If you’re at all curious about the film then go ahead and give it a go but taper your expectations. You may also want to read the graphic novel, as well.