“Snow White and the Huntsman” ultimately transcends other recent fairy tale revisions by not only hammering home the dynamic alpha female struggle between Stewart and Theron, but more importantly fashioning a tangible battleground where fantasy and reality clash in near-epic proportions. The seriousness of the film’s events aren’t to be taken lightly even after injecting elements of fantasy, namely dwarves, trolls and enchanted armies in this medieval setting.
To be perfectly honest, I think everyone has got this one wrong....
Snow White and the Huntsman does not really succeed as a film, however, it comes awfully close to achieving
greatness. It just fumbles in all directions until the bridge collapses, rendering any kind of structure a problem.
Everyone has complained about Kristen Stewart in the role. I have had problems with her in the past especially with
Twilight; however, I have always admired her acting and choices. I enjoyed her performances in The Yellow Handkerchief
(the remake), Welcome to the Rileys, Adventureland, The Cake Eaters, Into the Wild, Panic Room and even Zathura
(which I love). Anyone who thinks Stewart is not an accomplished young actress is seriously naive and misinformed.
They are clearly only drinking the poisoned Twilight Kool-Aide. And I don't have a problem with her here in this film at
all.
Visually I think the film shared more of a resemblance to the Hayao Miyazaki film Princess Mononoke, than it did any
other movies like Lord of the Rings or Gladiator. As a matter of fact, the entire fairyland sequence comes right out of
Miyazaki. I can't believe others didn't pick up on this. Not that it isn't beautiful; it just isn't as original and bold as
everyone thinks.
The characters in the film are the real problem. We don't have enough time to get to know them, thus, the film parades
along at a steady blockbuster pace without any of the meat or girth. We're left with having to listen to Charlize Theron's
wailing and chewing of the scenery.
Clearly the actress does not posses the certain octaves, expressions and ranges unique to dames like Susan Sarandon or
even Michelle Pfeiffer. Hell, even a young Linda Hunt could have pulled off this role (though admittedly she'd be less sexy
and statuesque).
Many scenes in the film do not feel like scenes, rather, placeholders for the momentum of the action to carry on. Beit
those specific moments have been paid great attention to in terms of looks. There are beautiful scenes such as the
moment when Theron is covered in milk like substance. She looks as beautiful as a Greek statue (I'm pretty sure there
was little to no CGI there).
Once Stewart finally meets the eight (yes, eight) dwarfs all we get for "character development" is a measly cliché
campfire scene where they sing and dance (however, little is explained about each of them let alone the rest of the
"human" characters). As the plot grows more grim and complex, it is difficult to care for anybody in particular
because we're not as invested as we should be. Stewart's late divulge into a Knightley-esque Pirates of the Carribean 3
war speech is chuckle worthy at worst, fair/High School play finale speech at best. You won't find any Sir Lawrence Olivier
stuff here (not that we're even expecting it).
God bless Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth for trying his lights out at acting. Though I am still trying to figure out if he
knows how to do it. He is a perfectly capable physical specimen. With all the charisma and charm to boot. Having said
that, he is not nearly as bad as Theron is here (she is a brilliant actress beit a slightly miscast/mis-"directed" one).
On that note, the director (Rupert Sanders) could have used Ridley Scott at the helm to shoot some of the battle scenes.
They look great but lack excitement, intensity and coherence. I will applaud however Greig Faser's luminous
cinematography in which Stewart has never looked more beautiful on film. Her green eyes light up the frame and her
(thankfully present) smile fills the room with warmth. Her Bella Swan days are not missed.
The film may have even worked better as an R with more gore and intensity (though it would likely loose the 11 year old
girl crowd). It strays away from the funny business save for a rather leery scene involving Paul Bettany's clone (who is
not nearly as good an actor).
Snow White and the Huntsman is all look, flair, beauty without the grace; the entire spectacle and costuming without
the powerful words holding them together.
One is immediately reminded of better films like A Man for All Seasons or Camelot, in which words flow out of actors
mouths like Sir Rich and Paul Scofield as fine aged wine. Here, Stewart and the lot are just whining (and picking up
checks).
Still, Colleen Atwood's costumes deserve an Oscar.
I am looking forward to Scott's Prometheus next week.
After seeing this movie and not really knowing what to expect. I had seen the trailers and read some reviews, but everything seemed so mixed. The constant that keeps coming up is Kristen Stewart's questionable acting and Charlize's great acting. To be honest, Kristen does a good job, Hemsworth does a good job and Charlize does a good job. The acting is not where this movie fails. I do think that the movie suffers from a prolonged midsection and nothing new in the climax that you didn't see in the first 5 minutes. I understand Kristen Stewart is now judged by her work in the Twilight Saga, but she is able to pull off this role along with all of the other actors. The visuals were good, the costume design was great and the actors pull everything off. The script is the only problem and it really is a shame to see everything else go to waste. In the end, this won't be anybody's last movie, and they can all be proud of their work, but the viewers will start to get fidgety in the 1 hour to the 1 and a half hour mark.
