Ever look at the roster of actors in a film and it impresses you to the point that you go against your better judgment to go and see it anyway? Of course you have. Such was the case this past weekend with The Huntsman: Winter’s War. Winter’s War serves as a prequel/sequel to 2012’s Snow White and the Hunstman that starred Kristen Stewart as Snow White. Warning, spoilers ahead…
I have to admit as I sat through this film, I was waiting for Emily Blunt to break out with “Let it Go” because there was a lot of Frozen influence in her portrayal. Winter’s War follows Chris Hemsworth’s title character as he and his wife Sara (Jessica Chastain) battle the evil ice queen Freya (Emily Blunt) whose icy heart is set on dominating the world. Freya’s sister, Ravenna (Charlize Theron) is shown in the beginning and plays an obvious and quite disturbing role in shaping Freya’s destructive ways only to disappear for the next 80+ minutes as the narrative shifts 7 years, till the climatic showdown in the end. Because of its prequel/sequel structure, losing Theron for most of the film only hurts it further. I much rather have seen a Freya versus Ravenna showdown.
The in between time however, centered on reintroducing the the dwarves as allies for the Huntsman, a road trip reminiscent of Lord of the Rings and a convoluted misunderstanding between the Huntsman and his wife which only served to insult the audience. Visually speaking, I would easily give it a 4 out of 5 although the CGI heavy ending was overdone to the point that it made it difficult at times to understand what was going on. Sometimes, less is more. As for the stellar cast, as I said, any movie with Blunt, Chastain, Theron and Hemsworth should be exciting and of the highest quality. However, it’s just not enough to save it from a choppy and in cohesive screenplay. The dangers that a movie who tries to incorporate the first part as a now middle part and then try to fill in the rest of the story as bookends around it, is at best risky and all too often unnecessary.
Directed by: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Jessica Chastain, Emily Blunt and Charliza Theron
PG-13 114 Mins
THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER’S WAR – **1/2 (out of 5 stars)
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
Photos Courtesy of Universal Pictures
