Review – The Huntsman: Winter’s War

I think I saw Snow White and the Huntsman (2012).  I think.  I can’t be 100% certain.  Obviously it didn’t make that big of an impression on me if I can’t remember seeing it, but it made a ton of money, so obviously it was going to get a second film, though I doubt it needed one.  The Huntsman: Winter’s War is a sprequel, part prequel, part sequel, and a middle of the road film that I’ll probably forget about…much like the first one.

The Huntsman: Winter’s War starts off as a prequel where we meet Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) and her sister Freya (Emily Blunt) years before Snow White.  When Freya loses her child in a fire, she unleashes an inner power that basically makes her Elsa from Frozen (2013) and moves to the north where she builds an ice castle and controls the land.  Freya then builds an army of Huntsmen to fight her battles.  When two of them, Eric (Chris Hemsworth) and Sara (Jessica Chastain) fall in love, Freya forces them to separate.

After Eric and Sara are separated, we travel seven years into the future, which takes place after Snow White and the Huntsman.  Snow White is Queen and Eric is roaming the land after the events that took place.  When he hears news that Freya is looking for the magic mirror to take over Snow White’s land, he sees it as the perfect opportunity to get revenge on Freya for separating him from Sara.

There’s a lot going on in this movie, yet none of it is really exciting.  There are a couple cool action scenes and good looking sets and costumes, but the story and character development are left by the wayside.  We get a few laughs from the four dwarfs, but the rest of the dialog is a lot of story exposition.  When there isn’t any fighting, the movie relies on the love stories and none of them really work.  They’re all kind of stilted and under-developed.  I guess this is what you’d expect from a first-time director who has made his name in Hollywood through visual effects.

For such a great cast, none of them gave a really good performance.  Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain, and Charlize Theron are three of the best actresses working today and none of them got any material to shine.  Blunt is essentially an angry, songless version of Elsa.  Chastain’s Sara is basically ripped right from Brave, as she’s a feisty red-head who’s a pro at the bow and arrow.  Theron looked like she was having the most fun out of the three girls, reprising her role as the evil Ravenna.  She chews up her scenes to the point of near campiness.  And Chris Hemsworth is, well, Chris Hemsworth.  Physically excellent, charming, amusing, but nothing great.

If you liked Snow White and the Huntsman, you’ll probably like The Huntsman: Winter’s War.  It’s not a great movie, but it isn’t horrible either.  It’s the kind of movie you can watch on a Sunday afternoon when you’re slightly hungover and have nothing else to do.

MY RATING – 2/4

Did you see Huntsman: Winter’s War?  What did you think?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @kevflix or on Facebook at Kevflix.