This latest adaptation of the Brothers Grimm tale, Snow White escapes imprisonment and the wicked queen sends a huntsman to find her. Commercial director, Rupert Sanders, in his feature directorial debut, took on the arduous task and while the story itself is very inspired and unconventional, it’s the execution of those elements and the casting that fail to make this a solid hit.
Kristen Stewart (Twilight), once again in a role with a love triangle (what’s with this chick?), delivers a cardboard performance as Snow White, in which she rarely shows any emotion. Even when delivering a supposedly uplifting and moving speech, her mannerisms give her away as awkward and reluctant. Chris Hemsworth‘s (Thor) huntsman, attempts goofiness, but is also awkward and unable to stir real emotion. The romance between the characters is just implied and is never given a part of the story. By no means was Charlize Theron miscast though. She was superb as the wicked queen. Her character truly embodies the phrase, “Hell hath no fury, like a woman scorned.” Her beauty equals her evil and she uses it to every advantage. She devours every scene keeping the queen unpredictable and gloriously merciless.
As for the supporting cast, I wanted to see more of Snow White’s childhood friend, William, as he is obviously in love with her and yet that’s barely even given note in the story. His character could have been cut out completely and it wouldn’t have changed anything. Fantastic performance by Sam Claflin as William, though. Even though he had very few lines, his actions and intentions were always clear.
Watching the dwarfs in this film, I couldn’t help but compare the fantastic performances of the actors in Mirror Mirror (review), as they were actually little people and were a sincere comedic element. The dwarves in this film were seemingly there only for comic relief and did not provide enough to really warrant their inclusion.
The magical aspect of the film was completely unnecessary and out of place with the darkness of everything else happening. The attempt at lightening the mood was not needed especially when no explanation was given and it left more questions than answers.
The other saving grace of the film (the first being Theron) is the battle sequences. They are epically crafted and executed while being visually stunning. The score by James Newton Howard (The Hunger Games) was subtle enough to not emphasize the action, but never pulls you out of the moment.
With a running time of over 2 hours, it drags during anything not full of action. Many of the sequences could have been cut down to make it leaner, and yet there seemed to be entire sections missing that left several more questions about Snow White’s childhood and imprisonment. Audiences will likely be bored and saying to themselves, “Enough already!” just as the last action starts to take place. I predict a meager opening with a quick decline as Prometheus hits theaters the following weekend.
Rating: In the scope of all the summer movies coming out, skip this one. 4/10
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