Snow White and the Huntsman

This film holds together thanks to Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart, who are not only nice to look at and turn in decent performances, but are also great casting choices. The same applies to the other actors, from Sam Spruell’s Breivik-like villain to a group of dwarves, among which at least Ray Winston can only be recognized by his voice. Surprisingly, Chris Hemsworth, as the Huntsman, gets very little space given that he plays one of the titular characters and his relationship with Snow White doesn’t work too well (once again, given that it’s the title of the film). The dwarves’ lack of humor is also surprising. The film is excellent in the first third, which is dominated by the deliciously evil and cold Charlize Theron (Eva Green’s cold bitch from Dark Shadows can’t hold a candle to her). Overall, the film is not flat, it has a certain drive, is engaging and full of fantasy charm and darkness. The great visuals and J. N. Howard’s soundtrack are not surprising, as they were to be expected. The Lord of the Rings inspiration probably cannot be avoided, but the references to The NeverEnding Story were a nice surprise and suggest that the screenplay of the latter film’s Hollywood remake is already taking shape on someone’s desk in the city of angels. The film is too long; its second half should have been shorter and more dynamic. Overall, however, it’s still better than the childish The Chronicles of Narnia or the plastic Golden Compass. (05/24/2012)

Exactly on the border between darker fairy tale and cautious fantasy, but personally I was hoping for something a bit higher. The situation must occasionally be explicitly saved by the beautiful Kristen and the warrior Hemsworth, for whom the roles of unruly and vulnerable heroes will be a career destiny. 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 minutes in advance, so what's the problem? For me, it's clearly with the queen. Charlize and her evil queen simply didn't convince me with her performance and portrayal of the character throughout the two hours, whether she was bathing in milk or menacingly threatening whomever she wanted, I just nervously fidgeted and waited for any kind of change. Sanders sympathetically changes notoriously known plot moments (although he doesn't fully execute that crucial and most anticipated change until the end), but in the very end, the overall impression remains too hesitant. (09/09/2012)

The awesomely beautiful Charlize and her initial intro get you almost immediately. And they don’t leave you for the entire movie. Sanders has a firm director’s hand, superb visuals (beautiful when required, dirty if needed) and everything ticks over nicely. The production design looks appropriately high-flown and has the requisite Lord of the Rings gilding. Kristen is great, but it seemed to me that he spoke too little for the main protagonist and draws very little attention to himself. Chris Hemsworth rocks again in the role of an inebriated hunter with a troubled past, and the meticulously cast dwarves were welcome and added a pile of laughs. Howard’s music is a pleasure to listen to. This is more or less what I had imagined it was going to be. Hail the Queen! (06/14/2012)

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. (06/04/2012)

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... (05/23/2012)