There seems to be this great resurgence in the world of Hollywood of movies that are resurrecting various fairytales. Snow White and the Huntsman is one of the newer ones to make an appearance, and it retells a tale almost everybody is familiar with.
This is not like the 1937 Disney version of Snow White. This movie has some rather dark elements to it, and it puts a unique spin on this famous tale. A couple of examples are that the Mirror-Man seeps out of the mirror and stands up to face Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron), and Snow White (Kristen Stewart) has a much more frightening, and purely hallucinogenic experience in the Dark Forest. There are, of course, a number of other things that give this film its different take on this story, but you will need to watch the film to see what they are. The CGI is really amazing in this film (for example, the close-ups of Queen Ravenna's face turning from older to younger after consuming youth, and how she reforms and crawls out of a pile of flailing ravens upon her return to the castle). Some of the camera shots are equally amazing (e.g. the rising out of the milk-bath scene), as are the costumes, and how Ravenna's costumes change as her powers weaken. Most of the movie is rather serious with its dark undertones, but the Seven Dwarves who make an appearance later in the film give it some comic relief.
I have a couple of critiques of this movie. First, it is on the long side, and it moves rather slowly in some parts. My other critique is the casting. Kristen Stewart was chosen to play Snow White which was disappointing. I felt she was unconvincing, and was not a good choice for this role. This is why I give the movie 4 stars and not 5. However, Charlize Theron helped to ‘salvage’ the cast choice. She was pretty committed to playing Ravenna, and even tore a stomach muscle during filming because of all the yelling she does in this role. She gives a convincing and stellar performance as the misandric, power-hungry, manipulative, and bordering on psychotic Queen, and I wish the movie explored her character and background more than they did. I also thought Chris Hemsworth playing the Huntsman did a good job, and he puts on a Scottish accent very well.
Overall, I really enjoyed this movie, and I would recommend it to those who like new spins on fairytales, stories based on stories of ‘good’ versus ‘evil’, and epic tales with elements of the fantastical.