How entertaining? ★★☆☆☆
Thought provoking? ★☆☆☆☆ 4 April 2016
A movie review of THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER’S WAR. |
YouTube review:
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“Whoever gets the mirror will be unstoppable,” The Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth)
Who exactly is this film aimed at? It is too violent for young children, too fairy tale sappy for adults, the romance is undernourished and the action sequences flavorlessly choreographed. It is hardly LORD OF THE RINGS when language like “wanker” and “sh*t box” is bandied about – though it does raise a smirk as it cuts through the weakly constructed fantasy stylings. Comedy thesps Nick Frost, Rob Brydon and Sheridan Smith, as bumbling/stroppy dwarves, are the only decent offerings, and unfortunately just light relief sidekicks. Was anyone clamouring for a follow-up to SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN?
Who exactly is this film aimed at? It is too violent for young children, too fairy tale sappy for adults, the romance is undernourished and the action sequences flavorlessly choreographed. It is hardly LORD OF THE RINGS when language like “wanker” and “sh*t box” is bandied about – though it does raise a smirk as it cuts through the weakly constructed fantasy stylings. Comedy thesps Nick Frost, Rob Brydon and Sheridan Smith, as bumbling/stroppy dwarves, are the only decent offerings, and unfortunately just light relief sidekicks. Was anyone clamouring for a follow-up to SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN?
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By making WINTER’S WAR both a prequel and a sequel, unfortunate comparisons are made with THE GODFATHER PART II, and of course this falls short. You know a story is in trouble when it relies on narration to explain the obvious. It does not help when they roped in Aslan a.k.a. Liam Neeson to narrate.
We are told at the off that the initial setting is “long before happily ever after”. The back of Snow White is later glimpsed in the sequel part. Why did Kristen Stewart not cameo? Even Charlize Theron’s bitter villain, Ravenna, is brought back to grab at something approaching a plot.
One is guessing it is Snow White’s husband, Prince William (no relation to Brit royalty), played by Sam Claflin, who arrives for a single scene, seven years after the original flick, talking about an army we do not see. Epic this is not. William’s sole job is tell The Huntsman/the audience what the mission is: To recover the golden mirror, which is now a malevolent furnishing turning people evil when they look into it, rather than merely reflecting the evil in their hearts. It was stolen by goblins – the rare bit of fantasy thrown in. Gone are the beautiful effects and cinematography from its predecessor. The 3D is awful. Covering many years, yet lazily no one seems to age. WINTER’S WAR is bargain basement blockbuster filmmaking.
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Emily Blunt’s Freya, a.k.a. The Ice Queen, follows the same trajectory as Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent in the even more vapid titular movie. Sister to Ravenna, and lover to the Duke of Blackwood (Colin Morgan), she finds him standing over their dead baby. So obviously it is her sister’s doing, yet her character does not see it and goes off to conquer kingdoms with her newly found ice powers discovered in trauma (will there be an X-MEN cross over?). Her sole law as queen is hilariously “do not love”. She builds a mountainous ice palace (will there be a FROZEN cross over?). As a warlord she kidnaps kids from destroyed villages (will there be a CONAN THE BARBARIAN cross over?) and trains them to be her “Huntsman”. Two are the titular lead and Sara (Jessica Chastain), both putting on terrible Scottish accents. Theirs is a clumsy ardour. Freya also seeks the mirror.
WINTER’S WAR has so little merit, even with the talented trio of Theron, Blunt and Chastain.
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