Snow White and the Huntsman Review

When Snow White's (Kristen Stewart) mother, the Queen Eleanor of Tabor, dies, her father King Magnus (Noah Huntley) goes into a deep depression. During this time he is forced to confront an army that threatens his kingdom. After the dark army, consisting of glass soldiers, is defeated the King and his men discover a prisoner, Ravenna (Charlize Theron), amongst their ruins. Instantly enchanted, Magnus marries her the next day. On their wedding night Ravenna reveals herself as a sorceress, who, after been spurned by powerful men in the past, kills the King and takes his Kingdom. As Ravennas guards storm the castle Snow White tries to escape with Duke Hammond (Vincent Regan) and his son William (Sam Calfin), but she is captured by Ravenna's brother Finn (Sam Spruell), and locked away in a tower in the castle.

Many years later, Ravenna continues to maintain her youthful beauty through using her dark magic to drain youth out of young women. When Snow White comes of age, Ravenna learns from her Magic Mirror that Snow White is destined to destroy her unless Ravenna consumes the young girl's heart which will make her immortal. She sends Finn to retrieve her, and she escapes the castle into the dark forest Ravenna asks Eric (Chris Hemsworth), a widower huntsman who has survived the dark forest, to return her to the kingdom in exchange for Ravenna using her powers to bring back his dead wife, to which he agrees.

The main problem with the film stems from the fact the story of Snow White has become so familiar to audiences that even with significant changes, the basic plot remains the same, making for dull viewing. Naturally, the huntsman discovers Ravenna's offer to be baseless and he helps Snow White on her journey through the dark forest, and other enchanted lands, before leading her to Hammond castle to find an army that will help stop Ravenna. While the film looks beautiful and the special effects are stunning, especially where Ravenna and the Magic Mirror are involved, they do little to enhance the tedious plot. Various mystical animals are thrown in to liven things up and audiences are treated with dark monsters, fairies, and yes, of course, dwarfs, but again, they all just seem unnecessary, as if they're used to fill up time.

Stewart is an adequate lead and Hemsworth brings some emotional depth to the huntsman. Theron is given the very difficult task of trying to humanise the evil Ravenna, but her character's motivation is weak and not fully developed, resulting in a lot of what are supposedly meant to be terrifying outbursts from the sorceress, which only come across as melodramatic. Similarly, the same problem occurs in Spruell's character Finn. A major staple of the story, the dwarf's, are underused and initially come off as not at all likable. While they are intended to add some much needed humour and emotion into the film, their introduction and development leaves much to be desired and they ultimately end up being quite forgettable in the scheme of the film.

Despite a solid cast, and a wonderfully dark looking world that has been created within Snow White and the Huntsman, the plot of the well-used story fails to offer anything new and exciting for audiences.

Rating: 2/5