Review: Snow White and the Huntsman

June 18, 2012

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It is summer time, which means that I am actually going out to see movies. I cannot say why I do not go to the movies very often during the winter months. It may be because I live in the Midwest, and all of the things that slow down in the winter just slow down the out of home entertainment. This is the first of several film reviews that I am going to undertake. I am not a true film critic. I do not read film critic reviews. In fact, I do not watch many films in theaters. I mostly go when my wife wants to go.

Snow White and the Huntsman

There have been may Snow White movies, the most famous being the Disney animated classic from 1937. For those of you who have read the “original” tale from the Grimms brothers, you will know that the cartoon is rather mild in comparison. The live action remake in 1997 with Julia Roberts is truer to the fairy tale. On those lines, the cartoon was for young Americans, the later movie was for teenagers. The original story was actually for small children, as were all of the Grimms tales, to provide a moral or warning.

The latest installment of Snow White movies is in theaters now; Snow White and the Huntsman. This movie has many attributes that appeal to the current generation of movie goers. The special effects are outstanding. They flow with the action and add rather than detract from the visual impact of the movie. There are several actors and actresses who are excellent including Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth.

LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 29:  Actress Kristen Ste...

The fairest of them all?

The story itself is well integrated, providing more detail as to why the queen would want Snow White dead. But this is where the positives end. The character of Snow White herself is far to militant and sure of herself. No offense to the actress Kristen Stewart, but she is not fairer than fair or more beautiful that the rest. Although moving the huntsman to being a huntsman rather than the executioner in the story is a good move, adding a brother of the queen to provide the chase mechanism adds little to the plat. The Dwarves are less comical than in previous version, but also only have a bit part. Rather than truly being the guys who stick their necks out to protect the fair lady, they are just the junior partners in a rather large contingent of support.

There is very little actual violence, due to the fantasy ingredient of the tale, which makes it acceptable for most kids (although some might have nightmares from the special effects). The target audience seems to be teenagers. I would not recommend paying full price at a theater, but a discount theater or video rental may be a good option.

Next week: Men in Black 3
 

 

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One Comment (+add yours?)

  1. Martin Kelly
    Jun 18, 2012 @ 11:58:55

    Kosmo pointed out an error. Julia Roberts is actually in another remake of Snow White that came out just a few weeks ago called Mirror Mirror. The 1997 movie stared Sigourney Weaver.

    Reply

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