Movie Review: Snow White and the Huntsman

This week, Papa Kenn reviews the movie that has everyone thinking more about the bad guy than the protagonist: SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN!

“Snow White and the Huntsman”
Director: Rupert Sanders
Writers: Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock, and Hossein Amini
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron

Review Transcript:
Ok, let’s get something straight: Yes, I do find Charlize Theron more attractive than Kristen Stewart and have been guilty of making the joke about “How can Snow White be the fairest of them all when Charlize Theron is hotter than Kristen Stewart? Hahaha-bloody-ha!” Yes, I can’t stand the idea of the Twilight series of books or movies. But let’s all grow up, put on our big-kid undies, and try to move past the fact that everyone loves to typecast an actor/actress for whatever role, whether it was good or bad. So Bell- I MEAN, Miss Stewart, you get a blank slate going into this. Just like your face in your other mov- NO, BAD!

I liked this movie. PUT THE PITCHFORKS DOWN! I said I “like” it, not “love” it. It isn’t what I would consider a great film, and has its share of issues to go along with the good.

The shining star of this movie is easily Charlize Theron as the evil Queen, and not only because she’s gorgeous, but she brings the character to life. With maybe a few exceptions, she commands your attention every moment she is on screen, and you become engrossed in the madness and obsession that drives her from start to finish.

Chris Hemsworth does very well as the huntsman; a relatively simple yet strong and sympathetic character that earns his place in the movie’s title. Most everyone else puts on a strong performance as well, though the vast majority of them are left undeveloped due to being 3rd-tier characters (or the “Red Shirts”, if you will).

And of course it wouldn’t be a Snow White movie without the dwarves. I won’t reveal anything about them other than saying that you will enjoy their moments on screen. You might even see a few familiar faces- DON’T YOU DARE GO TO IMDB! Won’t do you any good anyway, as the movie doesn’t use the Disney names.

Oh, and there’s [Kristen Stewart] but we’ll get back to her.

Other than Charlize Theron, possibly the biggest selling point for this movie is how it looks. From start to finish, this movie looks amazing and truly comes to life when the scenery moves into a more colorful climate.

Going along with how it looks and the overall theme of the film, it’s obvious that inspiration has been taken from films like Lord of the Rings. A modern fantasy movie being inspired by Tolkien isn’t very surprising of course, because almost every fantasy-based movie/game/story seems to be little more than modern fan-fiction that ranges in quality from The Elder Scrolls to Hawk The Slayer. Using these inspirations to enhance the classic Snow White tale is a smart move in my opinion, as they help make the movie more interesting for the audience, though the fight scenes are a bit watered down. On the other hand, the argument could be made that SWATH does little more than blatantly rip off Lord of the Rings. You practically see a poor-man’s Legolas and Aragorn taking on the bad guys in certain scenes!

And…now the inevitable discussion of Kristen Stewart in this movie. I tried to give her a fair chance, but she is easily the weakest actor! Even random soldier #3 is more believable than her. And for the love of GOD she really does have the same confused/constipated facial expression in every movie!

Surprisingly, for much of the movie Snow White almost seems like a secondary character. She’s just along for the ride with no actual direction or purpose, and her need to do actual acting is kept to a minimum. Well, as much as a movie named after her character can anyway.

Anywho…

Despite its faults, I found Pale Goth & The Thunder God to be overall quite enjoyable. The harshest critiques focus on Kristen Stewart being miscast as Snow White and saying that she ruins the entire movie. I agree that she is the weakest part of the movie, but her diminished role works in the film’s favor in that it focuses more on the characters around her and the queen. Especially the queen.

I think it helps if you imagine Kristen Stewart to be a lost puppy in this movie. A sad looking one with a constant look of…constipation.

I give Bella and the Australian: 6 / 10.

I’m Papa Kenn, and I love puppies! But not Kristen Stewart.

Later!