Review: Snow White And The Huntsman [2012]

Background:

Release Date: 31 May 2012 (Malaysia), 1 June 2012 (USA)
Directed By: Rupert Sanders
Written By: Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock, Hossein Amini, Rupert Sanders
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Sam Claflin, Sam Spruell
Duration: 127 minutes
In A Nutshell:
After Revenna (played by Charlize Theron) is made Queen, she kills the King on her wedding night and starts her reign over the kingdom with terror and cruelty. Informed by her magic mirror that Princess Snow White (played by Kristen Stewart) whom had been imprisoned for years will soon take over her as the fairest of them all, Ravenna seeks to eat her step daughter's heart to gain eternal youth. Snow White manages to escape from the castle and runs into the Dark Forrest. A Huntsman (played by Chris Hemsworth) is hired to capture Snow White, but he soon feels a change of heart after learning who she is. Meanwhile the news of Snow White's escape has let her former childhood flame, William (played by Sam Claflin) to search for her too.

Thumbs Up:
+ Impeccable visuals created from magnificent CGI, wonderful cinematography, and great camera work.
+ Charlize Theron creates a sinister villain in the form of Queen Ravenna
Thumbs Down:
- Another needless love triangle for poor old Bella Swan Kristen Stewart
- The story is at times lethargic and dull with uninspired dialogue
- The climatic scene has nothing special and is pretty understated

The Verdict Is In:
Following previous Hollywood traditions such as Deep Impact [1998]-Armageddon [1998], A Bug's Life [1998]-Antz [1998], The Illusionist [2006]-The Prestige [2006], and The Truman Show [1998]-EdTV [1999], this movie will be the second Snow White movie to come out in quick succession following the release of Tarsem Singh's Mirror Mirror [2012] a few months back. The trend isn't about to end anytime soon as two movies based on the life of Steve Jobs will be released next year. I don't think its a surprise to anyone that this particular retelling of the classic Brothers Grimm tale is the better one of the two. But better only in comparative terms, because as a standalone feature, it is far from being outstanding.

This feature turns out to be not as exciting as its trailer suggests (which it has to be said is one of the best seen in years - still can't believe the shattering mirror scene featured in the photo above isn't in the movie at all). The story is pretty uneven because for every entertaining moment in the film there is probably just as much dull scenes. The problem just might be that the film takes itself too seriously. There is hardly any humour and the dialogue is rather uninspiring. Charlize Theron plays a good villain whether in normal human form or in other magical incarnations. I've read some reviews saying that she gave a poor performance specificly her slow delivery of dialogue. I have to disagree. I actually think her dialogue delivery embodies her persona and stays true to the history of her character. Plus, compared to Julia Roberts in Mirror Mirror [2012], Charlize Theron is really someone you can believe to be "The Fairest Of Them All". Not so sure about Kristen Stewart threatening that title though. Sure, not many people on this planet can, but in this instance, it isn't even close.
Rating:
6 out of 10