Review: Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

Director: Rupert Sanders

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron

Writers: Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock and Hossein Amini

Oh how I wanted this to be good, but alas it wasn’t to be. There are good elements throughout the movie which stop it from being awful, but they don’t come together in a satisfying way. It’s a shame as I think Rupert Sanders has a great style that suits the fairy tale world. The visualization of both the Dark Forest and Sanctuary, really create this magical world that I wanted to explore. However the story and acting really grind this movie to a halt. It’s too long without any real focus, characters that don’t have much to do, and subplots that are never really fleshed out.

The acting is a very mixed bag. Charlize Theron is the highlight of this movie, she is having so much fun as the evil queen and just chews up the scenery, but in that very good way. Kristen Stewart cops a lot of flack for her acting but I don’t think it’s all that bad; unfortunately the script never gives her anything to really do other than cry. She has a rallying speech near the end of the movie, but it never really hits right. Some of the actors seem really bored, and I was dismayed to see Bob Hoskins sleep walking through his part. Chris Hemsworth is okay as the huntsman but his accent is pretty bad, and therefore off putting.

Good ideas exist in this film but they never seem to be payed off, the world is enchanting but this story doesn’t intrigue me, characters play out larger than life yet actors just don’t seem to commit fully. I can’t say I hated this movie, and if I see this on the television I may watch it again. But I can’t recommend it to people as it really does fail to be as great as it’s ideas could of led it to be.