By: Brandon Porter
"Lips Red as Blood..Hair Black as Night...Bring Me Your Heart...My Dear Dear Snow White." - Queen Raveena
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"Mirror, Mirror On the Wall..
Who is The Fairest of them All?"
"You Are the Fairest...But there is
Another destined..
|
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| To Surpass You..." |
The Story
Once upon a time, a kingdom lived and prospered under King
Magnus and Queen Eleanor. While admiring a red rose that bloomed bright in the
coldest winter, she wished for a child who could match the beauty of that rose.
Thus, Snow White was born. Years later, the Queen tragically passed away
leaving Snow White and her father in charge of the kingdom. But soon, the King
becomes marries a seemingly innocent and frightened woman named Ravenna
(Charlize Theron) only to discover she is a powerful sorceress who destroys
kingdoms and lives. Once in control, the newly christened Queen Ravenna seizes
control of the entire kingdom and looks poor Snow White in a dungeon in the
north tower. Now a young adult, Snow White (Kristen Stewart) has discovered
that Queen Ravenna requires her heart to gain immortality. Upon hearing this,
she flees into the Dark Forest, only to be tracked down by Eric, (Chris
Hemsworth) a drunken huntsman with a broken heart. The two encounter many
friends and enemies including the mysterious dwarves and Prince William (Sam
Claflin). Together, they must rise up and against the Queen's evil reign and
restore peace and prosperity throughout the land. The Legend Retold Anew and
rest assure...its No Fairy Tale!!!
Analysis
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| Charlize Theron Gives a commanding presence as the Sinister Queen Raveena |
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| Eric The Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) stands before the Queen and her gaurds awaiting an important assignment. |
Snow White and the Huntsman was the second of two Snow White films to be released in
2012. The first film, Mirror, Mirror starring Julia Roberts and Lily
Collins, was more of a light hearted take on the fairy tale similar to the
Disney version people know so well. After a subpar box office performance and a
50% on Rotten Tomatoes, people were eager to see what the darker and grittier
version offered. With a disappointing 46% on Rotten Tomatoes, it seemed some
audiences and critics found the film somewhat underwhelming. Rotten Tomatoes
stated that the film suffered from uneven acting, problematic pacing, and a
confused script. However, Roger Ebert gave the film a strong 3.5 out of 4
stating, "The movie tries to recapture some of the menace of the stories
that used to be told to scare children rather than console them." Most of
the film's praise went to Charlize Theron's performance as Queen Ravenna as
well as Kristen Stewart's performance as Snow White. Negative reviews stated
that the film was boring and lacked depth and character development. Mick
LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle states that Snow White and the
Huntsman is a slow, boring film that has no charm and is highlighted only
by a handful of special effects and Charlize Theron's truly evil queen." Financially,
the film did admirably well. Snow White and the Huntsman garnered $56
Million dollars on its opening weekend knocking off Men in Black 3 as
the number 1 movie at the box office in addition to a worldwide total of $95
Million. Though it isn't a surprise that Snow White and the Huntsman is
not the best movie of the year, it still managed to please a large majority of
moviegoers. Everyone has their own opinion, but the end result is a mixed bag.
Review
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| Snow White (Above) and Eric (Below) lead an attack on Queen Ravenna's Castle. |
my Summer
Movie radar. But after a few trailers, I decided to give it a shot. I knew I
was taking a rather huge risk being that the film was outside of my preferred
genre which is Intense Sci-Fi Action, but I wanted to give it a chance. In the
end, I'm pretty satisfied with the results. The film was decent and had good
action. The visual effects were what really won me over. The amount of detail
and work that went in creating these amazing settings and creatures was a
spectacle itself. Action was pretty well done in the film. But like I said
before, my preferred action is Sci-Fi, so I kind of came in with low expectations
from the start. The action sequences I enjoyed the most were the ones that
featured Sam Claflin's character William. I felt his action scences were the
best in the film. Acting was solid from all members of the cast. Kristen
Stewart gave a really good performance as Snow White. She really had a
convincing british accent and brought as much life to the character as she
could. On top of that, Stewart in some moments looked stunningly gorgeous on
screen. She has the innocence and kind hearted persona needed for the
character. Chris Hemsworth I felt had the easiest time getting his character
down. All he had to do was take instances from Thor
and incorporate them into the character. Charlize Theron however, gave the best
performance as Queen Ravenna. Her character was also the only one who got a
significant amount of depth. Theron really played the character well and was a
very convincing villain. In short, part of me expected more from the film while
the other part was iffy from the get go. It was a good film but more of a onetime
thing rather than a traditional trip back.
Rating and Final
Thoughs
81% B-
Though not the best film of the summer, Snow White and the Huntsman still manages to impress with a twist and turn plot, great special effects, good acting, and solid action. Evaluations of this film and Mirror, Mirror should be made to make sure other Snow White adaptions bulid on the good and do away with the bad.
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