Finally got around to seeing the other Snow White from last year. The
story is much more involved than other versions. Ravenna (Charlize
Theron) is a powerful sorceress who maintains her beauty by sucking the
life out of others. Her mirror (which looks like a large bronze gong)
tells her that she can achieve immortality by eating Snow's heart. She
had to wait for Snow to become the `fairest of them all' before the
heart eating could commence. Needless to say, Snow escapes on the very
day that her heart is to be consumed.
Assisted in her escape by birds that guide her and a horse that carries her, Snow stumbles into a dark forest that few dare to enter. In order to track her, the Queen's brother enlists the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth, AKA Thor) as a guide. The huntsman is a drunkard and doesn't appear to be a very good fighter when first we meet him. Also, he has neither bow nor crossbow but does have several axes. What kind of hunting does he do? That's never explained. The huntsman (he is never given a name in the movie) finds Snow in short order but then switches sides when he learns what is to be done with her.
There are 8 dwarves. I don't think the producers realized that it was only supposed to be 7. However, one does get killed so that 6 dwarves take part in the epic assault on the castle. Wait! Only 6? Yes, another dwarf (played by Bob Hoskins) remains behind during the assault. The dwarves join Snow White and Huntsman soon after the pair emerged from the forest. Snow convinces them not to kill them (I like these dwarves) and to get them to Duke Hammond. Also of note, their names are not Happy, Bashful, and so forth.
Duke Hammond and his son William have resisted Ravenna ever since she slew the king. William was Snow's best friend and constant companion before Ravenna's coup. When he learned that Snow hadn't died during the sack of the castle and had even escaped, he immediately set out to aide her. He is completely in love with her so, once again, Twilight's Kirsten Stewart finds herself in a love triangle: William, Snow White, the Huntsman.
Speaking of Kirsten Stewart, the woman has no acting talent. She shows all the emotion of a Vulcan reading the dictionary and the passion of a potato. Save that she is easy on the eyes and the rightful queen, it's hard to understand what William and the Huntsman see in her. I did like that her Snow didn't become a warrior princess. Sure, she dons armor for the climactic siege but that doesn't make her Xena. She proves to be completely incompetent in battle. After the last Snow White and such things as Alice in Wonderland and Maid Marion in that last Robin Hood, it was refreshing to encounter a heroine who wasn't an awesome fighter.
Charlize Theron makes a fine wicked queen. There are times when she is a sympathetic character and others when her villainy is impressive. She had wormed her way into the king's heart with her phony and relatively easy to beat glass army. When next she uses the glass soldiers, they prove far more effective and pretty cool. Really tough to beat. Unlike the typical wicked queen, Ravenna has a brother who acts as her enforcer. He chases Snow and her entourage across the country while Ravenna fumes in the castle. The greatest problem with the queen is that, when you add up all the powers she displayed, it is baffling that she couldn't have used them a bit more wisely and won the day.
I did like that this was a fantasy world with a variety of mythic creatures. The dark forest has pollen that causes terrifying hallucinations. There are dwarves who are a race, not a bunch of short guys. There are fairies who were riding the birds that guided Snow to safety during her escape. There is a battle with a troll who was appropriately under a bridge.
I generally liked the movie but the weakest part is the titular character. Kirsten Stewart doesn't have the range for the role. Even so, there is talk of a sequel. I am curious what that would be like. Of note, the mirror was intact and Snow did gaze into it. And there is that unresolved love triangle.
Assisted in her escape by birds that guide her and a horse that carries her, Snow stumbles into a dark forest that few dare to enter. In order to track her, the Queen's brother enlists the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth, AKA Thor) as a guide. The huntsman is a drunkard and doesn't appear to be a very good fighter when first we meet him. Also, he has neither bow nor crossbow but does have several axes. What kind of hunting does he do? That's never explained. The huntsman (he is never given a name in the movie) finds Snow in short order but then switches sides when he learns what is to be done with her.
There are 8 dwarves. I don't think the producers realized that it was only supposed to be 7. However, one does get killed so that 6 dwarves take part in the epic assault on the castle. Wait! Only 6? Yes, another dwarf (played by Bob Hoskins) remains behind during the assault. The dwarves join Snow White and Huntsman soon after the pair emerged from the forest. Snow convinces them not to kill them (I like these dwarves) and to get them to Duke Hammond. Also of note, their names are not Happy, Bashful, and so forth.
Duke Hammond and his son William have resisted Ravenna ever since she slew the king. William was Snow's best friend and constant companion before Ravenna's coup. When he learned that Snow hadn't died during the sack of the castle and had even escaped, he immediately set out to aide her. He is completely in love with her so, once again, Twilight's Kirsten Stewart finds herself in a love triangle: William, Snow White, the Huntsman.
Speaking of Kirsten Stewart, the woman has no acting talent. She shows all the emotion of a Vulcan reading the dictionary and the passion of a potato. Save that she is easy on the eyes and the rightful queen, it's hard to understand what William and the Huntsman see in her. I did like that her Snow didn't become a warrior princess. Sure, she dons armor for the climactic siege but that doesn't make her Xena. She proves to be completely incompetent in battle. After the last Snow White and such things as Alice in Wonderland and Maid Marion in that last Robin Hood, it was refreshing to encounter a heroine who wasn't an awesome fighter.
Charlize Theron makes a fine wicked queen. There are times when she is a sympathetic character and others when her villainy is impressive. She had wormed her way into the king's heart with her phony and relatively easy to beat glass army. When next she uses the glass soldiers, they prove far more effective and pretty cool. Really tough to beat. Unlike the typical wicked queen, Ravenna has a brother who acts as her enforcer. He chases Snow and her entourage across the country while Ravenna fumes in the castle. The greatest problem with the queen is that, when you add up all the powers she displayed, it is baffling that she couldn't have used them a bit more wisely and won the day.
I did like that this was a fantasy world with a variety of mythic creatures. The dark forest has pollen that causes terrifying hallucinations. There are dwarves who are a race, not a bunch of short guys. There are fairies who were riding the birds that guided Snow to safety during her escape. There is a battle with a troll who was appropriately under a bridge.
I generally liked the movie but the weakest part is the titular character. Kirsten Stewart doesn't have the range for the role. Even so, there is talk of a sequel. I am curious what that would be like. Of note, the mirror was intact and Snow did gaze into it. And there is that unresolved love triangle.
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