Snow White and the Huntsman Review

Snow White and the Huntsman, starring Kristen Stewart as Snow White, and Chris Hemsworth as the Huntsman, plays out as an alternate retelling of “White White and the Seven Dwarves,” incorporating more action to please the contemporary summer blockbuster crowd. Being a sort of action take on a fairytale, it expands its horizons to a larger audience. No doubt I likely would not have seen it otherwise. After all, I did pass on “Mirror Mirror.” 

No matter the entertaining moments of the film, the movie is undeniably flawed. The manner in which Ravenna, the films villain, overtakes the kingdom of Tabor is ridiculous and unreal. (SPOILER WARNING, I guess.) After a battle against the approaching Dark Army, King Magnus, the king of Tabor the father of Snow White and a widower, finds and rescues Ravenna, a sorceress in disguise. He finds her so beautiful, they marry the very next day–yeah, for real, the very next day. She in turn kills him in his own bed on their wedding night, and brings an awaiting army into the kingdom to take over. So, she pretty much conquered the kingdom in 2 days. Being so easy to take this kingdom over, it is a wonder it did not fall sooner to a strong gust of wind. After the conquest of Tabor, the land is left in ruins, and Snow White is imprisoned.

At a young age, Ravenna (Charlize Theron) was the recipient of a spell that gave her beauty and power. The only thing that could undo the spell was another more beautiful than she herself. Enter Snow White. (The argument is whether or not Kristen Stewart can be considered more beautiful than Charlize Theron. I am going to go ahead and say no.) She has obviously been done wrong in the past by men, so now she gives them no trust, instead using them only for her own gain.

The complaints are not over; later, when Snow White escapes into the Dark Forest, a forest said to be so deadly, the huntsman, the only one known to have gone through this forest and lived to tell of it, tracks her down with a handful of other soldiers, and in the end there are no casualties to this forest. The forest seems to not live up to its deadly reputation if all these people go in and come out alive.

Another con is during the lead up to Snow White retaking the castle, wherein she rallies an army to fight alongside her. Being that she has been imprisoned for such a large part of her life, you wonder when she had time to learn the swordplay that she uses to win the battle. On the other hand, though, if we are going to have a story where she is all of a sudden “Snow White Warrior Princess,” then at least let there be an entertaining final confrontation between her and Ravenna, but to say the least, it is pretty sorry.

I personally felt the movie’s script was far underdeveloped. More thought to sew up these flaws would have went a long way. There will be a sequel, so maybe next time.

5/10