Snow White and the Huntsman Review

Who's the fairest of them all?
Full review by Isaac Handelman

Somewhere along in their advertising campaign for Snow White and the Huntsman, the folks over at Universal decided, in the middle of a trailer, to declare that “This is no fairytale”. That’s a blatant lie. In fact, this movie has fairies in it. Literally: fairies. No, this is definitely a fairytale, and it puts to use a good many cliches from fairytales past. This incarnation of Snow White tries very hard to distance -- not remove -- itself from other, more traditional fairytales. Mostly, that means Huntsman is darker, more visceral, and much more violent than your average princess pic. But don’t let that trick you; it’s still a princess pic. It’s got a love triangle, an ultimate evil, a bunch of bizarre, arbitrary fantastical moments, and even true love’s kiss. Thankfully, it’s also somewhat enjoyable.

Snow White takes place in a nondescript kingdom set in a generic fantasyland. It seems to be quite an oversight on the writers’ part that this kingdom is actually never given a proper name outside of “kingdom” and “the castle”. This surprising misstep is especially disappointing given the fantastical nature of the previews. Many viewers will enter the theatre expecting to be treated to a brand new world ripe with mythology. That’s not the case. The award for the film’s most creatively named creature would have to go to “troll”. 

But I digress. Putting aside the setting, the central narrative is actually rather intriguing. As I stated before, Huntsman is still a fairytale in practice, but it opts to take the road less travelled when it comes to more specific narrative points. The film follows the pursuits of (surprise!) Snow White (Krystin Stewart) and the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), neither of whom, much like the setting itself, is given a proper name, which leads to some silly-sounding moments when they’re addressed by other characters. The duo meet up in the kingdom’s generic “dark forest”, which, by the way, takes up a lot less screen time than the trailers would have you believe. Anyways, they’ve both been forced there, for different reasons, by the same tyrannical queen (Charlize Theron) who gained her throne through lies, deceit, and dark magic. 

For some reason, the Huntsman feels inclined to help Snow White out whenever she gets herself into any sort of trouble, and so, together, they set out on a journey to take Snow White to the rebellious Duke’s palace, where an army awaits with the power to dethrone the evil queen and return Snow White to her rightful place on the throne. 

It’s difficult to find any reason in particular to root for Snow White, other than that it’s what we know the filmmakers want us to do, and that the queen is portrayed as being so evil that anyone who shows her the slightest bit of opposition gains the audiences’ support almost instantly. As a young girl, Snow White is portrayed as a spunky, smiley, happy-go-lucky, adventure-seeking kid. As soon as Krystin Stewart takes over (about ten minutes in) she loses most of her smiles and all of her charm. Stewart isn’t particularly bad in the role, and I never found myself cringing at her line delivery. She just doesn’t do anything particularly interesting, and as a result her character isn’t very interesting either.

This holds true for most of the other characters (even the dwarves, whose considerable comic value doesn’t mask the fact that they’re completely hollow on an emotional level). The film’s saving grace in the character department is Chris Hemsworth’s Huntsman. Though his personality is uneven, ranging from walloping drunk to expert swordsman in a matter of minutes, Hemsworth delivers enough wit, charm and inherent likability to compensate. He also manages to provide one steady person to root for, both on the battlefield and off it.

Of course, many will be seeing Snow White to marvel at its incredible visual effects, which were heavily showcased in the trailers. On this front, the film absolutely delivers. The (limited) creature design is spectacular, and the scenes involving the shattering, black-glass soldiers (anyone who’s seen a trailer knows what I’m talking about) are downright jaw-dropping in their artistry at some points.

The effects are backed by some solid direction from Rupert Sanders, who keeps the film moving at a brisk pace while giving us a few sweeping set-piece moments and making sure that the action scenes are generally easy to follow (in other words, not too much shaky camera). Speaking of the action scenes, they’re spaced rather jarringly throughout the film, often stepping right into the middle of an otherwise mellow scene for no discernable purpose other than to throw in some action here and there. When these sequences do come about, it’s easy to get caught up in all the adventure and forget that you don’t really care about any of these characters all too much. And that’s just fine for a summer popcorn flick, which, when you get down to it, is what Snow White and the Huntsman really is.

It’s no reinvention of the fairytale. It’s not revolutionary, and it certainly won't change the way we think about the titular princess or any of the iconic characters surrounding her, or the land the tale is set in. But it is a big, fun, dumb, visually stellar experience that’s perfectly serviceable for those in the mood to turn their brains off for a couple of hours. Anyone seeking a finely-tuned, character-driven blockbuster should look elsewhere. 

Final Score:

5.5/10

“Average”