Snow White and the Huntsman

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

** (out of 4)

2012 will be the year of Snow White as here comes the fourth version of the classic tale behind MIRROR MIRROR as well as two direct-to-DVD releases. This one here features Kristen Stewart playing Snow White who gets thrown from her kingdom by the wicked Queen (Charlize Theron) who is in need of her youth. Soon a Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) is called upon to capture Snow White but when he understands what is going on he decides to join forces with her. SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN is a pretty looking film but there's really no meat on its bones and in the end we're left with a rather lifeless production that has some good stuff but in the end the film is just downright dull. There are quite a few problems with the picture but we can start with the casting. Stewart has proved herself to be a good actress and her work in stuff like THE RUNAWAYS have proved this but sadly she's miscast here. That dark, laid back approach works perfectly in TWILIGHT but here is just boring and it's quite obvious that this Snow White couldn't lead an ant colony let alone a kingdom. Not for a second did I believe Stewart in the role and the lack of a personality here really went against everything the character was. Theron isn't much better as the Queen. It's really hard to believe the type of performance she gives here because she goes so over-the-top that it reaches a level of where you just want to scream with how annoying the performance is. I'm not sure why Theron decided to scream so much but it really didn't do anything. Hemsworth is the one saving grace here and he actually delivers a good performance and makes much more of his role than what was on the pages. Sam Claflin isn't too bad as William but he shares no chemistry with Stewart. The CGI effects are actually pretty good here and especially the stuff dealing with the mirror as well as another scene where we see the Queen crawl out of some black tar. I also thought the scenery was quite great including the black forest and the beautiful green lands. The images here are much better than any bit of the story and that's a real shame. SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN is pretty to look at but sadly there's just no emotional connection to any of the characters. Worse of all is the fact that the film really drags in spots and for an action movie it's one of the most boring I've seen in a while.

Kristen Stewards deserves an anti Oscar award. The birds in the movie had better emotions than her.

Based on the German fairy tale Snow White, 'Snow White and the Huntsman' is A Visual Masterstroke, that comes across a delight to the eyes. And even in terms of story-telling, this dark adaptation gets it right.

'Snow White and the Huntsman' Synopsis: In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen.

'Snow White and the Huntsman' is gorgeous to look at. Each Frame looks magical thanks to the magnificent Cinematography by Greig Fraser & The Fantastic Graphics, that compliment the film.

Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock & Hossein Amini's Screenplay gives a twist in the tale of Snow White, making it dark & violent, but that works on its advantage, as its refreshing. Rupert Sanders Directs this fantasy-adventure superbly. His execution, in terms of visuals, is ovation worthy. Costume & Art Design are flawless.

Performance-Wise: Kristen Stewart as Snow White, delivers a sincere performance. Charlize Theron as Queen Ravenna, is purely evil. Chris Hemsworth as Eric the Huntsman, is fantastic. Ian McShane as Beith, Bob Hoskins as Muir, Johnny Harris as Quert, Toby Jones as Coll, Eddie Marsan as Duir, Ray Winstone as Gort & Brian Gleeson as Gus, are lovable as The Dwarfs.

On the whole, 'Snow White and the Huntsman' is a certainly a story worth watching.

Based on the popular fairytale ''Snow White'' comes the originally titled ''Snow White....and The Huntsman'' ,an epic fantasy film starring teen favourites Kristen Stewart (of Twilight fame) and Chris Hemsworth (of Thor/Avengers fame). Now, detailing the plot shouldn't be too hard, as we all know the story from childhood- Evil Queen (Charlize Theron) with talking mirror is hell-bent on killing her 'pure' step-daughter (Stewart) and hires a Huntsman (Hemsworth) to do the job for her. The Huntsman takes pity on the girl when he finds her, and together they become fugitives, going on a journey that involves meeting Dwarfs. Seven of them to be precise. What follows is a major battle between good and evil to determine who will reign over the Kingdom, the evil Queen or our heroine Snow White?

Now, I enjoyed this film a lot more than I thought I would, it reminded me a lot of Lord of The Rings, from the grand music to the mountain scenery, and it does feature a few spectacular fight scenes. Visually, this is an impressive film, however, the film focuses too much on visuals and not enough on characters, the Dwarfs are glossed over and never really given any time to engage with the audience, which is a shame, as the group contains excellent actors (Ray Winstone and Bob Hoskins, amongst others ). Kristen Stewart as Snow White seems to think she's still playing Bella from Twilight, (i.e no range of emotions, just a blank stare for the whole film), especially when opposite to her is Charlize Theron giving an amazingly dramatic performance as the Queen. To sum up, a good re-telling of a classic, but by no means as good as the Disney Classic which most of us remember.

7/10

Not bad....Pretty good re-imagining of classic tale. Main complaint:the lead actress with her forever wooden performance,really got on my nerves...