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Friday, June 1, 2012

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

Snow White and the Huntsman
Snow White and the Huntsman
 is the second film this year to turn the fairytale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on its head, and the first one I've seen, since I missed Mirror, Mirror. So while I am missing one basis of comparison, I think I've seen enough other films I can use to draw comparisons, as Snow White and the Huntsman doesn't offer a lot of new things. What it does offer is great performances by two of three major stars, Chris Hemsworth as the Huntsman and Charlize Theron as the evil queen Ravenna, and a good performance by Kristen Stewart as Snow White. These performances don't make up for a film that typically feels jumbled, senseless, and long and boring.

Snow White and the Huntsman is about how Snow White escapes from prison and is then hunted by the queen and her army because taking her heart (the same way Mola Ram takes hearts) will grant the queen eternal life, youth, and power. She employs the huntsman, who quickly joins Snow White anyway, and they trek back to the kingdom and meet a lot of weird creatures, like a troll, ravens, a stag, and a few dwarfs, along the way.

To fill the unnecessary two-hour runtime, the journey is full of several set-pieces and scenes that range from great and short (such as the troll scene) to just filler (the scene with the stag, which features a sour ending). A few puzzling moments are why did the queen let Snow White live in the first place, when she is clearly cold-hearted enough to kill her as a child? Why is a horse conveniently available when needed? Why can't I remember key scenes in this film? There aren't many. Honestly, the film started out strong and I wanted to see it in the first place, and it's not as jumbled as you may think it is. But the more it went on the more disappointed I got. I kept analyzing it, and not in the way I like to. It wasn't, "what's going on in this scene and these characters?" It was, "what the hell am I watching, this is weird." My main problem is all the characters and situations were underwritten (by Evan DaughertyJohn Lee Hancock, and Hossein Amini), except for Hemsworth and Theron, so I didn't give a damn what happened.

The production value, effects, and behind the scenes work on this film all looked great to me, but it's all wasted on a weak script and weak film. Other than that if you still see it, enjoy the fight scenes, it's all there really is.

2.5/5

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