Well, one more cinema trip before the
Caped Crusader's last outing (for now). I hadn't planned on it but
the ticket was cheap thanks to my membership card, so I thought, why
not? So, for your reading pleasure (or displeasure if you were forced
here), here's my review of Snow White And The Huntsman.
Obviously, it's going to follow the
Snow White story, but the key difference is that the huntsman (played
by Liam Hemsworth) accompanies and protects Snow White (Kristen
Stewart) from Queen Ravenna (Charlize Thereon) Ravenna plans to kill
Snow White to achieve immortality.
I've condensed it only for the simple
reason of, well, the fact that the story is common knowledge. I was
originally going to wait for it on DVD and compare it to Mirror,
Mirror and see which style works better, a comedic take or the action
adventure presented before us, but like I said, cheap ticket. Plus
the movie I was originally going to do in its place wasn't in, until
AFTER I saw the movie, so there you go.
Best performance here goes to Liam
Hemsworth. When it comes to brawling, he's a top choice, considering
the action of Thor. He's gruff and brash but fiercely loyal and
caring. He also gets one of the best displays of combat, fighting off
three of the queen's forces with his axe in the Dark Forest.
Kirsten Stewart isn't someone I'm a
huge fan of (mainly because I dislike the Twilight series), but I'm
willing to accept that she is capable of doing decent work outside of
that (except The Runaways, which she was a knock-out. Those types of
roles are the ones she needs). And here, she's pretty good. Fairly
emotive, which is a step-up from Bella Swan *Shudders* and
she can hold her own in an action scene. Her scenes with one of the
dwarves, Gus (Brian Gleeson) are among the best in the movie.
Charlize
Thereon is... actually a mixed bag. The main problem is that when she
shouts, rather than sounding forceful and evil, it comes across LIKE
A PETULANT CHILD WHO'S SCREAMINNNNNNG! Like that. And if you found
that annoying, oh boy, wait until you hear her. Granted, the
character isn't terrifically written (one of my biggest problems with
the film is that Ravenna is given a sympathetic backstory, even
though she's not remotely sympathetic. A Freudian excuse does not a
villain make) but Charlize isn't terrible. Though Ravenna's brother,
Finn (Sam Spruell), made for a better villain, being menacing and
cold.
I'll
tell you who's fun, though, the dwarves (one of whom is Nick Frost!)
They get good lines and character development, often providing
moments of levity in tense situations.
The
action sequences are nicely done, with the special effects looking
pretty cool. The knights that the queen conjures are especially
impressive (well, not knights in the strictest sense but still pretty
cool).
The
other big problem I have with the film is the ending (I'm going to
say spoiler even if you know how a Snow White story plays out), in
the sense that the queen is taken out so easily after effortlessly
dodging Snow White's sword strikes. Doesn't help that she is mopping
the floor with Snow White at first, only to be suddenly stabbed and
all of a sudden it's like “Oh no, I am dead. Time to fall now”.
Anti-climatic to say the least, especially when she's been built up
as a woman with many powers and abilities.
At
any rate, good film. Nothing special but not a waste of your time.
Hopefully I will get the chance to see Mirror Mirror before the
year's end. 3/5
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