Snow White and The Huntsman

You may or may not have gotten bored of the sudden influx of fairy tale themed movies and TV series, all fluffy and the like (Mirror Mirror, Once Upon A Time), but out came Snow White and The Huntsman.  A small section on the classic fairy tale bought to life looks at the time that Snow White (Kristen Stewart) escapes from the prison she is incarcerated in by her wicked stepmother The Queen (Charlize Theron) for being fairer than her.  The Queen then sends out a skilled hunter and marksman The Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) to bring Snow back dead or alive.

We discover The Queen came from a poor background and her mother a powerful sorceress places a curse on her to make her more fair than any woman in order for her to get a higher social standing.  The Queen asks the mirror who the fairest is and if it’s not her, she gets the young woman who has been seen as fairer and steals her youth and beauty.  However Snow is more fair than all in the land, thus landing her in hot water.

All fluffy and sweet right?  Wrong!  This is one dark film, looking at the time is it’s supposed to be set, a time with no electricity, medieval almost.  At points, it was quite scary and for a 12a rating, I felt it could have been a 15 and added a bit more violence into it rather than censoring it to appeal to a younger audience.

The Queen is truly evil and Theron plays that wickedness to a T.  With all the beauty she has, she is adept at bringing across the hate and evilness in just a look.  Far better in this type of role than in more recent Prometheus, where she drowned in a sea of crapness.

I am a big fan of Hemsworth as you all know (what’s not to like, he is a gorgeous beefcake giant of a man!) and he delivers action in spades.  A troubled and sad man with a heart, governed by his emotions and lead by his skill, he brings a strong and silent nature to the Huntsman.

The weakest link for me is Stewart.  Why Hollywood keep giving her big mainstream roles is beyond me.  She is unable to do any other character but her own (Twilight, Adventureland to name a couple) and she is not a fair and pretty princess.  Yes this is film is meant to go to the darker side of a fairy tale, but some things have to be relative.  Stewart is awkward and unattractive, she is never fairer than Theron!

This film was brilliant I have to admit, but could have been better with a leading actress that can actually act.