The Bottom Line
Strikingly designed and cast makeover of the children's tale into a straight-line, romance-free action odyssey.
A bold rethinking of a familiar old story and striking design elements are undercut by a draggy mid-section and undeveloped characters in Snow White and the Huntsman. After the campy family farce of Mirror, Mirror, this second revisionist take of the year on the 19th century fairy tale strides out deadly serious and in full armor, not to mention with more costume changes for Charlize Theron than a Lady Gaga concert. Designed to appeal to teen and young adult girls and guys, this muscular PG-13-rated action adventure conspicuously lacks romance but should get a good box office ride on the shoulders of stars Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth.
The teeing up is dramatic, to say the least, giving a swift and dire account of the malevolent usurpation of the throne of a rugged waterfront kingdom by Ravenna (Theron), a stunning blonde who infiltrates from enemy territory, bewitches the widowed monarch and dispatches him on their wedding night. The king's daughter is kept prisoner in a high tower until her maturity, at which point the queen's mirror, in this case a giant golden plate that morphs into a molten statue, informs her that the status of fairest in the land has shifted to Snow White (Stewart), who represents the queen's greatest threat as well as her salvation.
Production: Roth Films
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Sam Claflin, Sam Spruell, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan, Johnny Harris, Brian Gleeson, Vincent Regan, Lily Cole
Director: Rupert Sanders
Screenwriters: Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock, Hossein Amini, screen story by Evan Daugherty
Producers: Joe Roth, Sam Mercer
Executive producers: Palak Patel, Gloria Borders
Director of photography: Greig Fraser
Production designer: Dominic Watkins
Costume designer: Colleen Atwood
Editors: Conrad Buff, Neil Smith
Music: James Newton Howard
Visual effects supervisors: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brensan
PG-13 rating, 128 minutes
No comments:
Post a Comment