Snow White and The Huntsman – Review
I was at Comic Con in San Diego last year (2011) and sat in to watch the panel of these actors and director as they discussed the upcoming movie Snow White and the Huntsman. I liked what I saw and heard. It was a movie I kept an eye on as it developed and eagerly anticipated seeing it on opening day. The thought behind the movie was to go back to more of the original story than the Disney classic we are all aware of. What ended up being filmed was a darker, edgier retelling of the fairy tale. But did it work?
The Good:
These old stories work for a reason and the classic fairy tale of Snow White being caught in the Battle of Good and Evil will always from the outset work from a plot perspective. In this story Snow White, played by Kristen Stewart, is the only daughter of the deceased King and Queen and happens to be the heir apparent to the throne. Not holding the Twilight series against her, she actually did a good job playing a darker yet innocent Snow White. It doesn't seem like the two extremes would work together, but her brooding temperament was exactly what the movie was designed for.
The Evil Queen, played by Charlize Theron, is every bit the evil we would expect from such a role. In fact she does such a good job playing the role of the wicked stepmother that it is actually quite haunting. She just exudes evil in this movie in every scene by the way she moves and talks, to the very way she simply stares at people. She sounded at Comic Con like she was greatly looking forward to playing the Royal Evilness, and I just hope she didn't get into it too much. It was an epic portrayal that was chillingly natural. Of course the male lead of the story is played by Thor himself, er.... the Huntsman, Chris Hemsworth.
He carries himself as the drunken, down and out former soldier, and skilled woodsman perfectly. Rest assured that he wields a massive ax as well as he wields a hammer. Really all the actors did a very good job. The sets, costumes and cinematography were all top notch as well. The problem ended up being the story.
The Bad and the Ugly:
The problem with trying to have a different take on such a well known story (even the other horrible Snow White movie this year with Julia Roberts) is that if you venture too far from it the story will break down and leave the audience with questions. The movie was not horrible, it simply left me wanting more. Charlize Theron played such a tremendously Evil Queen to such a masterful degree that the movie could never match the intensity of the evil with the good. Snow White was setup to be everything the Queen wasn't it and in that regard it simply fell flat. The plot meandered through the middle of the movie as Snow White tried to find her way and her true calling. The dwarves were supposed to be what showed the goodness in her, and while they had a couple of funny moments, it simply never fully came to fruition. The plot also had her friends with boy who in your mind you assumed would end up being Prince Charming or something of the like. But the story ended up not ever really identifying the roles of the Huntsman or the boyhood friend. Also, not wanting to spoil anything but Snow White falls asleep from a poison apple for what seemed like thirty seconds of screen time. Seriously? That part seemed really forced and there had to be a better way to do it, or even not at all. This movie was close to being really good. It is too bad because with a couple of easy tweaks of the script a new retelling of the classic fairy tale could have worked. All in all the movie is worth a watch but leaves you wanting more. Except Charlize Theron, she will haunt my dreams the next few weeks. Yikes. RATING- B-