A visually opulent, but rather superficial experience, Snow White and The Huntsman never really seems to know in which direction it wants to be heading. There are some fine nods to other movies - for instance, the wonderful tribute to Princess Mononoke, my favorite Miyazaki movie, in the form of the white stag - and that's okay as long as you've got your own story to tell, which this movie doesn't. Granted, the re-imagining of the old Grimm fairytale does offer a few well-executed new ideas - the 'haunted' forest that functions on hallucinogens, the bridge which actually IS a troll - but it all leads to a pretty anticlimactic final act, and it takes way too long to get there. Also, I guess the writers didn't know how to work the romantic angle, as it's never even resolved if Snow White is in love with the huntsman or William.
Strange thing about this movie is that it features an all-round excellent cast, except for the two leads. Not only does Kristen Stewart have the dramatic range of a broken teacup, for ninety percent of this film she seems physically incapable of closing her mouth, walking around like a mouth-breathing moron - as she does in most of her films, come to think of it. This role would've been done far more justice in the hands of a lesser-known, but more talented actress like, for instance, Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Chris Hemsworth as the huntsman looks and sounds like a troglodyte, and even considering the dramatic back story of the murdered wife and so on, I couldn't get myself to sympathize with the character at all. However, Charlize Theron as the evil Queen is simply wonderful, as are the seven actors playing the dwarfs.
Overall, although it is admittedly beautifully filmed, this is a movie I'm highly unlikely to ever re-watch, mostly due to the clichéd, messy storyline and poor lead performances.
Strange thing about this movie is that it features an all-round excellent cast, except for the two leads. Not only does Kristen Stewart have the dramatic range of a broken teacup, for ninety percent of this film she seems physically incapable of closing her mouth, walking around like a mouth-breathing moron - as she does in most of her films, come to think of it. This role would've been done far more justice in the hands of a lesser-known, but more talented actress like, for instance, Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Chris Hemsworth as the huntsman looks and sounds like a troglodyte, and even considering the dramatic back story of the murdered wife and so on, I couldn't get myself to sympathize with the character at all. However, Charlize Theron as the evil Queen is simply wonderful, as are the seven actors playing the dwarfs.
Overall, although it is admittedly beautifully filmed, this is a movie I'm highly unlikely to ever re-watch, mostly due to the clichéd, messy storyline and poor lead performances.