Snow White & The Huntsman (2012)

After using a faux army to trick King Magnus (Noah Huntley), Ravenna (Charlize Theron) kills the King, crowns herself Queen, and seizes control of Tabor. Queen Ravenna uses her black magic to destroy and oppress everything around her, and with the help of a strong army and her brother, Finn (Sam Spruell), Queen Ravenna dominantly controls the land of Tabor without any challenges. But King Magnus’ daughter, Snow White (Kristen Stewart) could end the horrible, devastating reign of Queen Ravenna. She is Ravenna’s Achilles heel, but Snow White will need the help of a Huntsman named Eric (Chris Hemsworth) to survive the deadly Dark Forest. Snow White will have to earn the trust of the Huntsman, the support of Tabor, and defeat Ravenna once and for all.

I wanted to give this film a lower score, but Charlize Theron changed my mind. She was a perfect choice for the evil Queen/seductress Ravenna. Theron provided the essential menacing and cold-hearted personality for Queen Ravenna. Also, Charlize Theron is a smoking hot woman in real life, and her gorgeous looks added a strong sense of believability to Ravenna’s mystique as the beautiful Queen. Theorn could be evil and heartless throughout this film, but when her eternal beauty suffers a serious threat, you get to see the fragile side of her personality. Queen Ravenna was a strong character, but Theron could showcase some vulnerability, when the situation called for it.

Theron was fantastic, but what’s wrong with Kristen Stewart? I ask this question, because I’m starting to notice a trend after watching a good amount of her films. She routinely displays this emotionless personality, and Stewart might remind you of someone, who has serious depression issues. Stewart never brings anything special to her characters, and nothing changes in Snow White & The Huntsman. I wanted to root for Snow White. After all, this was a young girl, who lost her mother and father. She was all alone in the world, and a lot of people were counting on her to be the savior, who ended Queen Ravenna’s reign. But Stewart’s dull and lifeless performance couldn’t convince me. I’ll tell you one thing, Stewart should milk the Twilight fame for all it’s worth, because she won’t be able to lean on that crutch anymore, when the franchise ends this year.

Someone in here (and I can’t remember who at the moment) made a thread about Snow White & The Huntsman. If I remember correctly, the thread labels Snow White & The Huntsman as a poor Lord Of The Rings rip-off. Which brings me to my next question……Is Rupert Sanders a fan of Lord Of The Rings? Sanders is the director for this film, and he must be an admirer of Peter Jackson, because Sanders tried to produce a LOTR clone here. I couldn’t escape this feeling throughout the film, but Sanders attempt to create a LOTR masterpiece failed. Snow White & The Huntsman couldn’t match LOTR’s breathtaking visuals, masterful storytelling, and thrilling battle scenes. Snow White & The Huntsman featured a few mildly entertaining fight scenes, but the overwhelming majority of action in this film didn’t excite me at all. In fact, Snow White & The Huntsman can be a very boring film most of the time, and Sanders couldn’t maintain any kind of consistent momentum.

Snow White & The Huntsman can feel refreshing at times. This film does provide a dark take on the famous fairytale, and you won’t see any cheery or colorful moments here. But the inconsistent rhythm and slow pacing really hurt this one.”WOW! This is finally going somewhere, and the story is starting to pick up some speed!” These were my feelings after certain fight scenes, but Snow White & The Huntsman couldn’t hold my attention. “Oh, look. They’re talking again. Nothing is happening, and they’re just sitting around, while telling random stories.” This is how I felt when the story slowed down again, and this pattern constantly repeats itself throughout the entire film. Snow White & The Huntsman has a run time of two hours and seven minutes, and you will feel every second of it. The story unfolds at this snail like pace, and everything just drags for so long.

This film features characters with depth, but the vast majority of mediocre acting couldn’t convince me. Charlize Theron delivered the highlight performance here, Stewart annoyed me, and Chris Hemsworth was…well, he was just there. He didn’t stand out, he wasn’t horrible, and he didn’t bring anything special to this film with his performance. Hemsworth was an angry and cocky alcoholic, who loved to fight. Hemsowrth is a big, strong guy. He has the look of someone, who could kick your ass, and he did provide the necessary tools for his role as The Huntsman.

The bulk of thrills come from the scenes that feature Snow White and The Huntsman’s dangerous journey to escape the Dark Forest, but the anticlimactic final battle destroyed any hopes of a satisfying conclusion for me. In the end, this film could’ve been something special, but I’ll remember Snow White & The Huntsman as one of the bigger summer disappointments in 2012.

Final Rating: 4/10