Quickie Review:
Freya (Emily Blunt) the Ice Queen with her army of huntsmen aims to conquer the world. Until one rogue huntsman, Eric (Chris Hemsworth) sets out on a mission to stop her. Meanwhile, the Evil Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) prepares for her return into the mortal world. The Huntsman: Winter’s War, is nothing spectacular. The cast is strong and the fantasy world of the Snow White chronicles is diverse and beautiful. Yet a lacklustre pacing due to focus on all the wrong places in the storyline, resulted in a movie that has little to no impact. Though not horrible, there is nothing memorable about it.
Full Review:
The first film in this franchise was quite a forgettable movie. So I can’t say I was at all looking forward to this follow-up. After seeing the film, I’m afraid history repeated itself.
With any fantasy film, one of the most important aspects is the world that’s created around the story. In this case The Huntsman pretty much nails it with the visual style, costumes, sets, etc. There is plenty of CGI but it all blends well together, so the world feels real despite some fantastical creatures. As for the characters, I quite liked the set up for the new character Freya the Ice Queen. The motivation behind her actions while quite simple was at least easy to empathise with. Which for sure makes for a more interesting villain. Charlize Theron is back for the sequel as the Evil Queen, Ravenna. There is not much development of her character because of limited screen time, but the way she carried herself you can really tell she enjoys being evil, and so you enjoy it as well. Then of course the hero of the movie Chris Hemsworth as the Huntsman was charismatic. He brought most of the fun to the movie, always smiling and taking on a challenge even when the odds are against him.
That being said, I had a lot problems with this movie. First of all, while I did chuckle a few times some of the comedy felt forced and out of place. It wouldn’t have been a problem if it was once or twice, but it was repetitive and quite noticeable. The middle act of the movie is stretched for too long regarding a quest to find an artefact. It detracts from the main plot, so much so you almost forget that there is an Ice Queen plotting to take over the world. If this part was shortened and concentrated more on the rivalry relationship of the two sister queens, that would’ve been a more compelling movie. Instead the whole quest was just means to set up final fight sequence and it wasn’t all that impressive.
In the end, I didn’t hate myself for watching the movie, there are some moments of entertainment to be had. I liked the fantasy aspect of it, and enjoyed the new addition of Emily Blunt as the Ice Queen. However, as a whole the movie is definitely less than average. I’d recommend waiting for home video release if you really want to see this.
The Stub Collector 