Snow White and the Huntsman

Release date: May 30, 2012
Director: Rupert Sanders
Story by: The Brothers Grimm (Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm)
Screenplay by: Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock, Hossein Amini
Cast: Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Sam Spruell, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Eddie Marsan, Toby Jones, Johnny Harris, Brian Gleeson, Lily Cole

I’m just going to get over it and say it: I liked Mirror Mirror better. Problems and all, that one is still a more cohesive film than Huntsman wishes it could be.

Like I said, we all know the story. Evil Queen, kind of a witch and obsessed with looks. Mind you, Charlize Theron’s Evil Queen has certainly a much more interesting story, because unlike Julia’s, this Queen has a background and a delicious reason to be power-hungry.

The rest is the same, beautiful girl with the palest skin must get away and overthrow the Kingdom of her evil step-mom… there’s the apple, and there’s the kiss. There are also dwarfs… who aren’t really dwarfs. But, oh well, such is the casting game.

I’ll admit it, though, Snow White and the Huntsman is luscious. Great cinematography, slo-mo close-ups, and some gorgeous colors on the palette. I even saw a couple of lens flares there. What this movie has in style, it lacks in substance — some SERIOUS substance. If you can say “random white horse waiting for you on the beach plot device” and “convenient horse chase action sequence”  because “she’s the one,” we might just be onto something. And that was just the beginning of the film.

Some of the ridiculousness of the script is so bad, you can even say Kristen Stewart’s one-note face is way ahead of it in the list of “bad things that could happen to the movie.” Part Lord of the Rings, part Robin Hood, bits and pieces of The Neverending Story, and passing mentions of TrollHunterPrincess Mononoke, and definitely The Matrix — it was pretty hard to keep those wise-cracking jokes down. But onto the good stuff… Charlize Theron’s Evil Queen. After the movie was done I wished Snow White and the Huntsman had told me her story instead.

Her story is quite tragic, she was pretty darn smart and pretty bad-tempered. Her first few scenes are actually quite attention-grabbing, and by the end you just wished she hadn’t fallen into the “villain monologue” and had actually gotten away with her evil deed. She was that good… and that fabulous-looking.

All in all, Snow White and the Huntsman doesn’t deserve a passing grade… but I’m unable to not take into account its visuals, and especially Theron’s Evil Queen. She deserves that extra star alone.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

amy

YAM Magazine editor, photographer, blogger, translator and part-time web designer. Film junkie, music junkie… and lately series (a.k.a. TV) junkie.

20 Responses

  1. Mirella Snape says:

    “She deserves that extra star alone.” Yes, yes she does. Damn, she was fab… and tragic… and crazy.

  2. Jenna says:

    that’s what I was afraid of. :/ Would it still be worth seeing in the theater anyway?

    • amy says:

      @Jenna, it depends. If you were excited about Snow White and Kristen, I would probably avoid it. But if you’re in it for Theron, she’s probably worth it.

      • Rodrigo says:

        @amy, Haven’t seen Huntsman yet. But people that already like Kristen (even in Twilight) will like her regardless, or am I wrong?

        • amy says:

          @Rodrigo, probably. There was a scene that gave me that Twilight vibe – totally roll-eye worthy, though that turned around into something that I liked.

  3. Rodrigo says:

    While it wasn’t a suprise that Kristen Stewart sucked ass (even if Brian Gleeson managed to break through her one-note face), I’d actually give Huntsman a 3/5 score (the same for MM). Random white horse was fucking funny, but Stewart was a bigger problem for me than anything else, other than the pacing maybe. Rest of the stuff ranged from good to great, with Theron being stellar.

    I think we should compare both Snow White films in all their factors. Should make up for some interesting conversation.

    • amy says:

      @Rodrigo, that’s the thing – Huntsman wasn’t really trying to be funny. That was unintentionally funny… the horse, all the chase and the bit in the forest. I gave this a 5 on IMDb, and rated MM with a 6… so it isn’t by much.

      In any case, Theron was stellar and all glowing reviews of the film should be focused on her or the cinematography. Anyone else who praises this outside those is nuts. LOL

      I think we could discuss both MM and Huntsman after the blogathon. ;P

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