Directed by:
Rupert SandersCinematography:
Greig FraserComposer:
James Newton HowardCast:
Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Sam Spruell, Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
In the epic action-adventure Snow White and the Huntsman, Kristen Stewart plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Charlize Theron) out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) dispatched to kill her. Sam Claflin joins the cast as the prince long enchanted by Snow White's beauty and power. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (12)
At the beginning I was surprised at how much I was enjoying it (I wasn’t expecting anything from it), but as the minutes went by, the enthusiasm waned and I ended at around 4/10. Nice visuals and a demonic Charlize aren’t enough to carry 127 minutes with a stupid script, a wooden Snow White and an unremarkable prince.
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Three and a half stars. The following things in particular are unfortunate: That Kristen Stewart is not even prettier, let alone more beautiful than Charlize Theron (but that's my subjective feeling, I know), that she has one expression throughout the film, and that the speech before the battle, already a ridiculous enough moment, is even more ridiculous given her performance. That the absolutely brilliantly cast dwarves (Ian McShane in particular!) only actually flicker through the film. That the writers screwed the prince into the plot so violently, when they could have left him out. That the "rip-offs" of The Lord of the Rings are so obvious. That some things are not understandable (or more understandable) - for example, waking up with a kiss (really, it's weird). And that's about all I could fault Snow White and the Huntsman for. Otherwise, it's a typical fantasy with impeccably atmospheric scenes in the dark and fairy forest, an excellent queen, an overly sympathetic Chris Hemsworth and a great Newton-Howard soundtrack.
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A mirror with no taste (Kristen more beautiful than Charlize; how could the screenwriters think that somebody would believe such nonsense?), visually well done, solid tempo, a lot of action, wasted dwarfs (such a cast and then they just get one proper scene), a couple of necrophilic kisses, one lesbian kiss and no kiss out of true love… And that is maybe the biggest (and not by far the only) mistake; you can feel the lack of feeling here and that was, is and always will be an crucial problem in a fairytale. Despite all its likability, it’s simply cold and that’s a shame, because otherwise for this Snow White – a successor of the fantasy genre so popular and wide-spread mainly in the 80’s, I would have had only words of praise.
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Great fragments, but a dramatic structure very blown away (hi ho, hi ho, we come to XY, we enjoy ourselves and then they attack us), no explicitly breathtaking moment, very solid craftsmanship, but affected by the effort to sell everything to all available senses at once. For me, it lacks a bit of finesse and stronger mythology, which would combine all the much dispersed influences - for example, when the dwarves sing an "Irish folk song" and Snow White prays to God, I do not know where I actually was. Some mandatory "mighty bloody battle" phrases strongly reside here (I would cut off hands for Snow White's monologue before the final battle). On the other hand, from an acting point of view, it is absolutely excellent, and if there is something that really excites beyond sensory intoxication, then it’s the well-chosen representatives of key roles (perhaps only Kristen gets a big life lesson from the predatory milf Charlize). Sanders certainly has a knack for playing with the viewer - I'm quite curious how his broadly targeted fantasy product will fare. Overall, I fluctuate between amused distance and enthusiasm - especially where this dirty girl dares to be really dirty and more daring than the polished genre competition. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm did not come despite a few good flashes. P.S. When The Witcher is filmed in Hollywood, Chris Hemsworth should be given the role of Geralt. The guy has style...
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Exactly on the boundary between a dark fairy tale and cautious fantasy, but personally I was hoping for something a bit more elevated. The situation occasionally has to be explicitly saved by the beautiful Kristen Stewart and the warrior Chris Hemsworth, for whom the roles of unruly and vulnerable heroes will be a career destiny. James Newton Howard (and Florence+The Machine) fantastically reign in the soundtrack, fantastic creatures appear cautiously in regular doses, and passages like walks through the enchanted fairy forest can take your breath away for long minutes before anything happens, so what's the problem? For me, it's clearly with the queen. I simply didn't find Charlize Theron her evil queen convincing with her performance and portrayal of the character throughout the entire two hours, whether she was bathing in milk or menacingly threatening whomever she wanted, I was just nervously fidgeting and waiting for any kind of change. Rupert Sanders makes appealing alterations to notoriously well-known plot moments (though he doesn't fully execute that crucial and most anticipated change until the end), but in the very end, the overall impression remains too half-hearted.
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