Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

This is not a quality film and I don't think they even meant it to be good or memorable. If you watched the trailers and *didn't* expect it to be terrible, I'd be very, very surprised. I would never have paid to see this. I only saw it because I got passes to a free advance screening. And it was just as ridiculous as I expected - and I was pretty entertained. We were laughing pretty hard the whole time.

The movie wasn't trying to have a good plot or a surprise twist. Clocking in at a little over an hour, it could have been season finale of a B-grade TV series of the same premise. I think movie was just trying to be funny, and I think their jokes worked. Like how Hansel has a "medical condition" (not spoiling it here). It doesn't work in a physiological sense - but who cares? It was really funny that they even made that connection!

There was an incredible amount of gore in this movie; but I suppose that itself was a joke, given the premise of the movie. Their other jokes relied on anachronisms (weapons, fanboys, crime investigations). But they were careful enough that the anachronisms were funny in the context of the world-building instead of being glaring anomalies.

There might be some people complaining about what an inadequate film this was with respect to plot, but that would be missing the point. Don't watch this expecting to take away anything - it's really only just for the lawls.

I can understand the movies poor reception and reviews however its one of those movies which you can't help but enjoy anyway. Its extremely fast, witty and has an unprecedented amount of gore. The action is plenty full and it has a simple storyline that plays on a classic fairytale. Although it has a serious tone it doesn't take itself seriously. Instead we get a fun, gruesome and entertaining action/horror movie. Arterton and Renner are strong in there roles and the witches are imaginative but familiar. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunter makes good use of its cast, creates some bloody mess all in a really fantasied and exacerbated 19th century.

The siblings Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) are left alone in the woods by their father and captured by a dark witch in a candy house. However they kill the witch and escape from the spot. Years later, the orphans have become famous witch hunters.

When eleven children go missing in a small village, the Major summons Hansel and Gretel to rescue them, and they save the red haired Mina (Pihla Viitala) from the local sheriff that wants to burn her accusing Mina of witchcraft. Soon they discover that the Blood Moon will approach in three days and the powerful dark witch Muriel (Famke Janssen) is the responsible for the abduction of children. She intends to use the children together with a secret ingredient in a Sabbath to make the coven of witches protected against the fire. Meanwhile Hansel and Gretel disclose secrets about their parents.

"Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" is a great entertainment for ordinary viewers like me that like the genre of fantasy but based on the Metacritic Rating, it is not recommended to intellectuals. The story is very funny and the special effects and make-up are top notch. Gemma Arterton is one of the sexiest actresses and it is good to see her again. If the viewer likes this genre, he or she will certainly enjoy "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters". I do not understand why people that like art movies spend their time watching this type of movie and writing bad reviews. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "João e Maria: Caçadores de Bruxas" ("John and Mary: Witch Hunters")

Lately we have seen a lot of these fairy tale remakes, where they take a basic fairy tale plot, add in a lot of CGI, slightly darker atmosphere and some sex and call it a day. I still prefer the Disney version, thank you very much. At least in those films the story flows smoothly and the characters are not cardboard cutouts. That being said, this particular fairy tale movie was a pleasant surprise. For one, it didn't try to retell the same exact story we have grown up with. Rather it took the story of Hansel and Gretel and asked the question: "What if they grew up?" I'm totally on board with that question. It's something we've never seen before and frankly it's a fascinating idea. So yeah, colour me interested.

The film itself ends up being pretty much what anyone would expect. I hesitate to call it a good film, because it has numerous plot holes, nonsensical twists and its characters are somewhat bland and clichéd. On the other hand, it has a good visual style, its action is very pleasing, if a bit gore-filled (not a bad thing in this case), the two main actors are actually pretty good in their roles, and as a whole it's just plain solid fun. Yeah, it's stupid most of the time, but it's fun kind of stupid. The kind where you're just able to sit back, enjoy the scenery and laugh at the jokes.

It also needs to be remembered that this was Tommy Wirkola's first big budget film. And for a debut film, this shows a lot of promise. The style is definitely there, as is the atmosphere. The story-telling and the character development need some work, but even big name directors struggle with those every now and then. I'm looking forward to what this guy will bring us next.

And that's this film. Yeah, it's one of those so bad it's good films, but I'd still recommend this. The idea alone is worth checking out.

When you start watching a movie titled "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters", you probably shouldn't expect all that much in the way of anything too complicated or heavy.

What you get from the ninety-odd minutes is Jeremy Renner (Hansel) and Gemma Arterton (Gretel) as the brother and sister from the candy house that you probably remember from the old fairy tales, only in this particular treatment, their childhood experience convinces them to start hunting witches with all manner of weaponry.

There are so many cool action scenes, the occasional bit of dark humour and plenty of bloody, violent horror/action as the siblings try to uncover the mystery behind children being abducted from a village, to a soundtrack that at times features rock. Some of the dialogue is decidedly modern, adding to a real melting pot of styles and themes.

An entertaining film that definitely doesn't take itself too seriously. Renner and Arterton are great, as is Famke Janssen as Muriel, the head honcho of the bad witch brigade. They're all hamming it up a bit, but it definitely works.