Snow White and the Huntsman is one of the first in the new Hollywood trend of dark and edgy fairy tale reimaginings. What started with Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland making a $1 billion quickly had studios checking their filing cabinets for any fairy tale related scripts. Producers stormed into meetings waving a used bar napkin with the next big money maker scribbled on it. Now fairy tales are all the rage with Once Upon a Time and Grimm on TV, and no less than 20 fairy tale related films in various stages of production with different takes on classic stories; Jack the Giant Killer (Jack and the Beanstalk), Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Maleficent (villainous side of Sleeping Beauty) and many many more. There was even a Snow White adaptation just two months previous to this films opening called Mirror, Mirror which bombed horribly. So it begs the question, does the fairy tale genre deserve this new found fervor or is it a fad that will pass just as quickly as it sprang up.
Snow White and the Huntsman has a lot stacked against it, a script which had been sitting stagnant for 10 years, the questionable casting of vacuum of emotion Kristen Stewart as Snow White, and its the directorial debut for Rupert Sanders whose only previous work was a live action Halo ODST short film. Given all that, it's amazing Snow White turned out even remotely as good as it did, unfortunately it falls short in a few to many categories for it to be the runaway success Universal so desperately wanted it to be. Snow White is neither the fantastical heroic epic it strives to be nor is it the eye opening villainous perspective the trailers have led people to believe. Instead it falls somewhat in the middle with Snow White herself the central focus along with a drunkard Huntsman who is along for the ride while he comes to term with his wife's death. The movie is very uneven, there are erratic prolonged moments of characters meandering with no real direction making the film bog down randomly throughout its run-time, performances are likewise erratic with no one giving a consistent effort.
The films aesthetic is easily the best thing about it, the dark fantasy lends itself well to this story as Snow White is forced to traverse through a dark forest that is littered with hallucinogenic plants that make the forest seem even more terrifying than it already is. There is even an idyllic forest with all manner of wildlife and even faeries that flock to Snow White as she is destined to bring life back through the darkness. The dwarves are very unlike their traditional interpretations as well, they are not named after emotions instead these are pilfering and vile small warriors that only after meeting Snow White do they begin to see a brighter future. The special effects used to make non-little people actors into these pint sized scoundrels is spectacular, which allows some great character actors to shine through the unfortunately minimal screen time the dwarves get; the likes of Ian McShane, Nick Frost, Bob Hoskins and Ray Winstone make a huge impression with their dirty jokes and great costumes and hairstyles.
The performances in this movie are all over the place, and while Kristen Stewart is light-years better in this film than in the Twilight series showing more confidence and generally having a more compelling nature, there are still moments where her constant mouth breathing becomes distracting. She does give a rousing speech towards the films climax that is probably the best performance she has ever given. Chris Hemsworth is also uneven as he doesn't seem to have his heart in this as much as he appears to have when he is playing Thor. Finally Charlize Theron has gotten a lot of praise for her role here but I have to say it seems undeserved as her character is very underdeveloped and bordering on obnoxious as she scream through more than half of her scenes. Though all of this may be the fault of the script which seems to be missing large chunks of detail as it sets up certain plot points only to never return or delve any deeper into them. This is also a film that is exposition heavy and it's all in the first half of the film, making it feel like a tedious power point presentation as we watch a fast moving story unfold just to set all the pieces on the board all within the first 15-20 minutes.
Snow White and the Huntsman is a decent effort in the dark-n-edgy-ification of classic fairy tales. There is even an interesting twist on the poison apple and awakening kiss that I found incredibly ingenious. The world the filmmakers craft for this movie is immensely impressive with gorgeous vistas, creatures and set design, with the dwarf special effects being the real standout. Unfortunately the movie is incredibly uneven in its performances, pacing and script. But when Snow White donned battle armor and rode fiercely towards the evil queens castle I was enthralled, and that has to count for something especially with Kristen Stewart being the one to lead this army into battle.
(3 out of 5)
No comments:
Post a Comment