Snow White and the Huntsman

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Kim

Yes, this is exactly what I was hoping for. For me it succeeds in all the ways Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland failed. This annoying habit of writers feeling like they cannot just tell a fairytale without completely re-inventing it is largely done away with here and it's refreshing. There is nothing wrong with a simple story well told.

There is a slight tweek that is evident in the title and once again they feel the need to shove a sword in the princesses hand but I have to say, it's not nearly as forced or out of place as in other recent fairytale adaptations.

This is a lavishly produced film. It is stunningly beautiful. The world feels real, it's gritty and dark when it needs to be but they don't shy away from going full on fantasy and when they do it's glorious. The best part of the film for me. And a necessity when you have dwarfs as an integral part of your story.

And man, they have a great cast of dwarfs. And eclectic bunch to be sure. The digital trickery used to make these well known actors the size they need to be, with body doubles and face replacement, it's a step further from what Peter Jackson accomplished with Lord of the Rings. Kinda freaky but pretty amazing.

This is Charlize Theron's show though. She goes big here. Almost more cartoonish than fits the style of the film but it does make from some wonderfully dark moments. This is not the happy, shiny, comical world of Tarsam's Mirror Mirror. Nor is it so classically stage-bound. It's a big and epic version of the tale and Theron's performance is the biggest part of it.

Kristen Stewart once again is playing a mostly reactionary character but she show more signs of life here than a lot of her recent work. Chris Hemsworth is a handsom man.

New James Newton Howard fantasy score? Yes please.

Rupert Sanders has made a formidable feature debut. I honestly didn't have any problems with it except for the very end, where it felt like the just ran out of money so it just stopped. A minor problem though, I know I'll be seeing this again soon.