Friday, April 15, 2016

Review of THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER'S WAR: Visual Vitality

April 14, 2016



This film is the second film following "Snow White and the Huntsman", a surprise hit movie in 2012. Oddly though, in this installment, the lead character Snow White is not in the title. In fact, Kristen Stewart was totally out of the cast of this picture!

This new film starts as a prequel to the events before the first film. The Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) had a younger sister Freya (Emily Blunt). When Freya suffered a personal tragedy, her wrath brought forth her innate power as Ice Queen. She established her realm in the cold north, creating a personal army of huntsmen from children kidnapped from villages she conquered. Of these kids, the best warriors turned out to be Eric (Chris Hemsworth) and Sara (Jessica Chastain). Going against the strict rule set by Freya, the two fall dangerously into love. From there, the film fast-forwards to events that happen after the first film ended to test if their love can indeed conquer all.

Because of the Ice Queen scenes, the beginning of the film felt like the live version of another Disney film, "Frozen"! In fact, you will get a sense of a lot of bits and pieces of several of these medieval films ("Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" come to mind) and TV programs ("Game of Thrones" and the Unsullied army) while watching it. (Actually, Filipino viewers may also find that the scene where Freya built an ice wall between Eric and Sara will remind them of the plywood wall dropped between two popular lovers on a local TV noontime show. Haha!)

Chris Hemsworth has been elevated to be the sole title character upon which this franchise was built around. He looks good in his Huntsman costume and his swashbuckling action scenes. He had scenes where he was smiling and playing it cute, which was a departure from the usual intense look on his face in most of his films. The chemistry between his Eric and Jessica Chastain's Sara was not immediate, but it grew on you as the film progressed. Chastain is really a strong actress and held her own ground in this busy film.

Charlize Theron did not appear until after the second hour of the film already. Even then, she totally owned all her scenes as the flamboyant Ravenna because of her statuesque beauty, enhanced by her extravagant gowns and very strong screen presence. Emily Blunt underplays her icy role of Freya in perfect contrast to Theron's fiery performance. Blunt's character is the emotional center of this film and she succeeds to make us feel for her when she buckles at Ravenna's return.

What delighted me most about this film were the dwarves. The male dwarves Nion (whom we met previously in the first film) and his half-brother Gryff, played by Nick Frost and Rob Brydon.  In their quest to retrieve the Magic Mirror, they meet a couple of female dwarves, the aggressive Bromwyn and the sweet Doreena, played by Sheridan Smith and Alexandra Roach. They provide the comic relief very effectively and I enjoyed watching their lively interactions with Eric.

The film looks very rich and opulent. No surprise that the director was Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, the second unit director and Oscar-nominated Visual Effects man for "Snow White and the Huntsman." Being his first feature film, the film may feel a bit uneven as a whole. However, the ravishing visual effects are really front and center here (though a bit overboard with the VFX on the Ravenna scenes). Though the script and story may not have been too clever or original, I thought "Huntsman" was an entertaining action-fantasy buoyed by its actors' charisma and lavish visuals. 6/10. 






23 comments:

  1. I was scared at first because of the title of the movie EVIL DEAD. With the name of the movie itself it sound deadly.

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  2. I have to be honest I skipped through your post because I haven't seen the movie yet. So excited to watch it over the weekend and I'll be sure to check back and see if we have the same opinion :)

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  3. Nice review. Sounds like a good film to check out. With one of my fave actresses Charlize Theron in the cast, I am sure I will enjoy this sequel to Snow White and The Huntsman. I think my hubby would love to see this too.

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  4. I was going crazy waiting for this movie, but from your review, it's nothing like I expected after the first one. I thought they were grooming him for Snow White, but it seems they changed their mind :) Which makes little sense, as his kiss wakes her up. Not that I care much, if Chris Hemsworth is in a movie, I will go see it :D

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  5. I can't wait to see this! I loved Snow White and The Huntsman. I love just about any action-fantasy movie because of the visual effects. Thanks for the review.

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  6. Ever since I saw the trailer I have always been so curious about this film. It would be nice to see how Snow White started. Thanks for the review, I look forward to seeing their fantasy land!

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  7. I just saw the trailer last night and it caught my attention. It did look like a Disney film but I think I'd still try to see this one if I get the time. If not, I think it's not such a big loss after all.

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  8. It's nice to explore the mythology around Snow White as seen on other characters point of view. I would want to watch this one.

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  9. I was just reading this on Saab Magalona's blog on how she was invited to a screening or was it a red carpet event for the movie. I'll watch it just to see Chris Hemsworth!

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  10. Oh thank God this one sounds promising. I did watch the first one, albeit disappointed. I'm a Thor er Chris Hemsworth fan and I shall troop to the cinema to give him a chance to redeem himself, haha. I've seen the trailer...I'm a little doubtful when you say Theron only appears on the second half of the movie....I hope that Blunt and Hemsworth managed to pull it off without the Fire queen. We'll see...

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  11. I am really looking forward to seeing this movie. I've seen the trailers and now after reading your review I still want to see it. So far you've been spot on with your reviews but I'm a big Chris and Charlize fan.

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  12. I have seen the first movie but did not like it too much. But if I am going to watch this movie it's because of Charlize Theron's character. I think she really is good playing the Evil Queen.

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  13. I will be watching this movie soon. I'mma big fan of fantasy movies, so I should'nt miss this.

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  14. Fred, I was actually waiting for ur review of this movie. In the first glimpse it reminded me of both Twilight and Game of Thrones!!!

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  15. I wanted to read some reviews before watching it. I think I will wait for DVD or TV to show it. Overall stuff looks too familiar.

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  16. We have been looking forward to seeing this so I am not going to read thru the whole thing. I do love that this movie is totally unconventional for the topic. It is going to be a lot of fun!

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  17. Not the type of movie I normally watch. I do like the casting though. Having Charlize, Jessica and Chris in one movie is pretty big. I might actually watch this. Thanks for giving this review and shedding some light.

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  18. I've always felt that the Huntsman series is a bit overrated. Hope they did a better job here than in Snow White :O

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  19. I read mixed reviews about this prequel, some poeple saying it's not good, and others like you saying it's not bad. I love Chris Hemsworth, so it'd be nice to catch it soon.

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  20. seems like a wonderful movie.. i watched snow white before and it was okay with me. with your review, seems like i need to watch this as well

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  21. I think the dwarves are awesome too. I'd like to see this one.

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  22. I am waiting to watch the story line and who don't love snow white. Hoping to catch this one in theatres soon.

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  23. Really only 6 out of 10 points. I have not watch yet but some of my friends said its good. Really had mixed reviews about this movie.

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