Snow White and the Huntsman

This isn’t your mother’s Snow White. Nor your 6-year-old niece’s. It’s not even your older sister’s Mirror, Mirror released earlier this year. This might, however, be the Snow White your teenage brother and his Game of Thrones/Lord of the Rings loving friends put in their Netflix queue. Unfortunately, Snow White and the Huntsman isn’t wholly original, borrowing from iconic movies we’ve already seen: The Dementor’s kiss in Harry Potter (the way the evil Queen Ravenna obtains her youthful beauty), sweeping shots of dwarfs traversing open landscapes of countryside (think The Lord of the Rings), hallucination-inducing gas in the Dark Forest (Scarecrow’s aerosol in Batman Begins), and a Joan-of-Arc inspired, chain-mail laden Snow White sum up the adventurous take on a time-old tale.

Charlize Theron stars as Ravenna, Photo Courtesy of Universal Studios

That said, Snow White and the Huntsman has one thing going for it: a great cast. Chris Hemsworth (Thor, anyone?), Kristin Stewart (Vampires, anyone?) and Charlize Theron (Ridiculously beautiful, anyone?). The supporting cast of Bob Hoskins, Ian McShain, Ray Winstone, Eddie Marsan, and Toby Jones as the dwarfs were incredibly enjoyable. Another character worth mentioning is Finn, the evil Queen’s brother, played creepily by Sam Spruell. The cinematography and special effects were up to the task as well, stunning in their execution and breathtaking to watch.

Chris Hemsworth plays The Huntsman, Photo Courtesy of Universal Studios

Unfortunately where Huntsman falls short is the story. Written by a team almost as great in number as the dwarfs themselves (5 writers collaborated on this film), Huntsman felt as piecemeal as the shattering warriors in the film. For first-time director Rupert Sanders, the plot felt action-packed but incoherent and non-cohesive. The story, unlike its predecessors, sticks closely to the original Brothers Grimm tale—which is quite a bit darker than versions you may have seen. Queen Ravenna only cares for revenge on men and her beauty—and will stop at nothing to sate both. She forces a huntsman to find and kill Snow White, but he ends up switching sides and teaming up with Snow White and the dwarfs to battle the evil Queen.

Kristen Stewart as Snow White, Photo Courtesy of Universal Studios

A few positive spots poke through all the malevolence: Snow White is virtuous, honorable, and true, reciting the Lord’s Prayer while empathetic toward the Queen. The Huntsman comes to care about something more than alcohol in protecting Snow White, and people band together in an effort to fight tyranny.

Huntsman earns its PG-13 rating. It’s dark, plain and simple. If you enjoy sword-swinging action, amazing special effects, and don’t really care about a story line and you’re at least a teenager, see the matinee to escape for a few mindless hours.

Sam Claflin as The Prince, Photo Courtesy of Universal Studios

CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW

Snow White and the Huntsman is rated PG-13 for violent content and adult themes. Most violence is saved for the battle scenes, and while heavy on the special effects, are still nonetheless gruesome and bloody. Some scenes of the Queen restoring her beauty are grotesque (eating a bird’s heart, for example). Undertones of incest and sexuality are present in scenes with Finn, Ravenna, and Snow White. Even though Snow White prays the Lord’s Prayer in a one scene, the dark overtones are pervasive throughout Huntsman.

Watch the official trailer for Snow White and the Huntsman.

Watch the music video “Breath of Life” by Florence and the Machine from the Snow White and the Huntsman soundtrack.