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An embittered and cruel witch-queen plunges the land into darkness and near hopelessness save for the existence of a beautiful princess that holds the key to the future in "Snow White and the Huntsman". The film marked yet another entry into the slew of grim reimaginings of fairy tales that had, in the public eye, long been associated with children's fare but, ironically, came from much darker roots.
The film is a curious one in the sense that it seems dead set on lulling you into a lethargic stupor despite its wide array of gorgeous visuals, sets, and a cast with some impressive names. In fact, it never seems like it ever properly takes off, always building up to something that never quite feels like it arrives with proper pomp and circumstance. Most confounding, is that when things do finally take on an air of urgent relevancy the film is a frog's hair from it's conclusion.
It's also a story that seemed to bite off more than it could chew, constantly developing the world the characters live in and the rules and circumstances that define everything going on while, simultaneously, feeling like it's always missed some important detail that would rightfully make you feel invested or make the world seem real. One wonders what could have been done with the characters if the filmmaker's hadn't been overtly concerned with the unnecessary glut of world-building.
The film also sports a prologue that is somehow both uncharacteristically long and manages to fail to delineate the bulk of important details that are pivotal to engagement in the film's core narrative. This despite there being a narration on top of dialogue and visual action. When details do come, they feel a little late to the party. Then there's the facets that are outright disregarded or left to assumption. There is always room for the implied and audience inference but maybe less so in a fantasy landscape that seems so concerned with details that make or break the whole affair.
With the level of unnecessary attention to cursory details you'd think they'd put in double the effort with casting characters but quite the opposite is true. The most alluring element in this story is the villain (played with overwrought menace by Charlize Theron) but they keep her so much on the sidelines that at times you almost feel you'll forget she's part of the plot. The usually charming and dexterous Chris Hemsworth is the titular Huntsman who is portrayed as everything the opposite of what his strengths as an actor would call for, leaving one to wonder why they didn't just cast any other schmoe. It feels wasteful for the most part, although Theron does entice despite the shortcomings of the character.
Of course there is the lead Kristen Stewart as Snow White, a casting that convinces me all they were worried about was the eye-catching and superficial nature of the film. Yes, her alabaster skin and ruby red lips evoke the princess of lore but her acting ability (or lack thereof) betrays the script's demand for a character that literally embodies life in a landscape full of death and decay. Though leagues better than her portrayal of Bella in the dreadful Twilight series, Stewart still came across as a blank slate with only the occasional spark here and there to give you an inkling at what could of been. Its stunning that anybody would think that this casting would work given the requirements of the character on paper, so when she suddenly leaps from listless maiden in distress to a unifying and inspirational leader of an army it feels grossly out of place and unwarranted. At no point do you feel the character has grown or changed and, yet, the film tells you she has. No amount of fantasy could cover up her inadequacies as an actress.
To add insult to injury the film is the equivalent of riding a kid's tea cup ride after you've experienced a hair-raising roller coaster. Things that should excite you seem trivial or pedestrian and quickly give way to that languid, plodding pacing that consumes the bulk of the film before they can build up any adequate steam. Again, a lot of that time is spent indulging in visual world-building that ultimately serves no purpose other than to provide eye-candy. Rarely does it charm and when it does it's only a matter of minutes before we're back into glacial pace. At a gobsmacking two hours and seven minutes (longer if you see the extended cut) this takes its toll.
Not all is negative however. Somewhere in there you could see traces of potential but this feels more like a sequel to a story that we never got to see so it's missing intrinsic chunks of information that would make us invested in the events. The effects are gorgeous as is the cinematography. The cast is full of big names and some of those do the best with what they have (most notably the slew of greats playing the dwarves). Costume and set design are top notch, as well. All this just makes you wish the story was worthy of the production value, however.
I will say I never felt bored during the movie but I also never felt fulfilled. Everything just fell short of the mark. Visually lush but shallow, "Snow White and the Huntsman" is a sad waste of talent. Neither horrid nor good, it just wallows in tepid waters. It will be forgotten. 4/10
