Rating of
3/4
Review: Snow White and the Huntsman
MikePA - wrote on 06/03/12
Snow White and the Huntsman retells the classic story in a much more edgier, darker, and (believe it or not) violent manner, showcasing exceptional visual effects and cinematography. The film adds a scarier twist to the original story, but it stays faithful to it. Newbie director Rupert Sanders does a fine job executing the story and the characters, but fails to flesh them out and develop them as people we're supposed to look up to, lacking emotional depth. That is to say, this is still a perfectly good film: visually stunning, beautifully shot, simple story, and never boring. Rupert Sanders has what it takes to make a great film. I'm expecting one from him in the future.
If you don't already know the Snow White story, it's basically about an evil queen, Ravenna (played by Charlize Theron), whom, according to her magic mirror, isn't the "fairest one of all" in the kingdom. The "fairer" one is of course Snow White (played by Kristen Stewart), who has been imprisoned in the Ravenna's castle for most of her life since the queen killed her father (who had originally took control of the kingdom). Ravenna orders her brother, Finn (played by Sam Spruell) to retrieve Snow White from her cell and bring the girl to her. Snow White eventually escapes the castle into the land, where help, beauty, and danger awaits.
At this point, Ravenna is ticked off. She wants to be the "fairest" one in the kingdom. Out of jealousy, she wants Snow White so she can consume her heart, taking away Snow's beauty. She orders the heroic Huntsman (played by Chris Hemsworth) to hunt down Snow White. When Snow White and the Huntsman finally encounter each other in the dark forest, they work together. Snow White wants to get an army and attack on Ravenna and her army, reclaiming her father's kingdom. It's a fun ride.
As I said before, the film has sensational visual effects. Queen Ravenna's castle, both interior and exterior, looks amazing. It has a very eerie vibe to it that feels appropriate. Though, as far as visual effects go, the two locations that stand out the most are the spooky dark forest and the fairy sanctuary land. The dark forest is a terrific set piece. Very imaginative. The ground shoots out this gas that makes the person who inhales it hallucinate. And, my God, you see some creepy s***. The fairy land, which is the home of all of the fairies and little animals like rabbits and deer and what not. This, too, is a very imaginative set piece. It's visually beautiful. This set piece alone makes the film worthy of a Best Visual Effects Oscar.
The film has a lot of battle sequences, maybe a little too many. But they're all very riveting and exciting. They are well-executed by Sanders and the visuals add to the excitement. The battle scene on the beach is the best action sequence in the film. What's not to like?
There is a lot to appreciate in Snow White and the Huntsman. But the film is pretty flawed. Excluding Charlize Theron's portrayal as Queen Ravenna, the performances aren't so great. Kristen Stewart does well delivering a monologue towards the end of the film, but everything before is still her dull, one-emotion acting. Chris Hemsworth was fine, but he could have made the Huntsman a more exciting character. What's good is that the film has Charlize Theron playing the queen. She is marvelous. She makes a great villain, giving a really menacing look and feel to the character. She steals every single scene she is in. When she screams, it's pretty frightening. I want to add that the dwarfs are in it, and they're great! Through the use of visual effects, they digitally made these great actors into smaller people. These actors include: Nick Frost, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Toby Jones, and many more. It's nice to see these great actors playing the dwarfs. They're very fun and they supply some great comic relief.
In some moments the performances seem kind of laughable because of how bad the dialogue is. Not all of the script is poorly written, but in many sequences it falls flat. The movie is also a tad too long. Maybe because of the one-too many battle scenes. It runs 2hrs and 7mins. It feels much longer.
Is all of this exciting? Yes. It's a great thrill ride. As a large-scale action epic with countless visual effects, it's well made. The problem is that it lacks heart. This is a movie where, under it's battles and violence, should have some heart. It doesn't because you don't really feel for these characters. Like I said before, it lacks emotional depth. While the visual effects may certainly be memorable, the characters really aren't.
Despite it's flaws, Snow White and the Huntsman is a fun ride from beginning to end. It could have been a great movie if the characters were more fleshed out and the script was improved, but it's good entertainment for a summer blockbuster. The visuals are terrific though. This is something you should definitely pick up on blu-ray when it comes out. It's a good movie: nothing more, nothing less.
3/4 (See It)
