“SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN” Movie Review. A BIZARRE retelling of an OLD FAIRY TALE.

“SNOW WHITE & THE HUNTSMAN” PRESS PREVIEW

We can’t beat them all, can’t we?

Somewhere along the fine line, HOLLYWOOD must have been facing a dearth of creative materials, as we are all at once swarmed with two big budget epics along the likes of SNOW WHITE – both screening barely a few months of each other.

The earlier one starring JULIA ROBERTS takes on a hilarious turn whilst the current offering starring CHARLIZE THERON rides along the treacherous path of a swashbuckling adventure.

As far as both features are concerned, the people behind them are great minds who must have thought alike.

This latest version offers insurmountable excitement but is steep in violence and gore. The story opens on King Magnus (Noah Huntley) rescuing and taking the beguiling Ravenna (Charlize Theron) as his new bride.

He is fatally stabbed during the act of marital coitus on their wedding night.

The wicked Ravenna usurps the throne and then banishes her step-daughter Snow White (Kristen Stewart) to rot in a derelict cell. When Snow White attains adulthood, she schemes her way out of the castle and flees into the wilds.

 Ravenna, however, is just not going to let things  be.

She hires a lonesome booze king called Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) to scour the Dark Forest to capture her and bring her back as Ravenna needs to eat Snow White’s heart in order to retain her youth and maintain immortality. Will all these lead to a tragic ending?

Film director Rupert Sanders specializes in television commercials. This is his feature debut.

He does a commendable job and proudly leads us through a panoramic journey where we can fully apprehend the lush, larger-than-life mythos, the surrealism and spectacular imagery that seemingly reeks touches of Peter Jackson – as with emotive scenes showcasing the interaction of humans with soulful monsters and other weird beings.

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Granted, the Director of Photographer did a brilliant job as the cinematography is breathtakingly beautiful. No expense has been spared to capture all of its spendor, but it is truly Charlize Theron’s acting vehicle as she renders here, one of her more significant screen perfomances. Without her, the pathos of aesthetics wouldn’t have been this profound. A petite Stewart adorning warrior garb leading a legion of soldiers to save her frailing empire lags far behind.

As an escapist film, “SNOW WHITE and the HUNTSMAN” is handsomely produced and is a cinematic gem to boot.

It’s certainly worth a see.