The Huntsman: Winter's War Review

The Huntsman: Winter's War

Ravenna: "Are you ready, huntsman?"

The Huntsman: "Aye."

Me: "No!!!"

       The Huntsman: Winter's War is directed by visual effects artist Cedric Nicolas-Troyan (first time director) and stars Chris Hemsworth as Eric/The Huntsman, Jessica Chastain as Sara, Emily Blunt as Queen Freya, Charlize Theron as Revenna, Nick Frost as Nion, Rob Brydon as Gryff, and Sope Dirisu as Tull.

Right there! Emily Blunt's Freya is imitating exactly how I felt during the movie: sleepy.

      The Huntsman: Winter's War is the (technically) sequel of Snow White and The Huntsman that takes place in the fantastical world of Snow White. The Huntsman (whose name is Eric and I'm just going to refer to him as Eric from now on) is shown raised as a part of Queen Freya's unstoppable army. He and Sara grew up as the best fighters in her army and as love interests for each other. Freya, rejecting any idea that has to do with love, separates the two indefinitely. Years pass, with the story of Snow White and The Huntsman passing too, and Eric is given orders by Queen Snow White to retrieve the mirror that made Revenna the Evil Queen to then exterminate it. Sara and Eric reunite to find the mirror, along with a handful of dwarves who butt heads, so that Queen Freya doesn't find the mirror, that her sister Revenna used, and unleash the evil it holds. Forbidden love and absolute power can either help The Huntsman Eric come out on top or fall to his knees.

Charlize Theron whispers: "Are you wondering why you're doing this movie too?"

      This is visual effects artist's Cedric Nicolas-Troyan's directorial debut, beside a short film he did a while ago. It's clear that The Huntsman: Winter's War is a visually driven film because the world looks pretty enticing. Though that's the only thing it has going for it. Everything else was messy as all hell. Yeah, there's some poor acting by great actors and the dialogue is cheesy as can be, but The Huntsman: Winter's War's worst sin is that it's boring. I hate to say it, and I really do, but there was a point in the movie where I had to resist not falling asleep. It was a battle between the nature of humans and the human consciousness saying, "don't do it! I believe in you!". I would have rather seen that movie: a movie about a person fighting the urge to fall asleep. There is a lot of walking and talking, which I don't have a problem with in a movie. The Lord of the Rings trilogy has a bunch of that, but at the same time, the characters there were interesting and able to grab a hold of the audience with their tough journey. The characters in The Huntsman: Winter's War were bland. I'm sorry Emily Blunt. You're amazing and exceptional in almost everything you do, but you were not the actress that should have been chosen for this role. Queen Freya seemed to be written as a character whose mere presence is what drives their personality and characteristics. Emily Blunt, if you've seen any of her films, is more of an action star and prides herself with dialogue as well. No fighting or fast movement and terribly written script is what's provided for this character. Like I said, not the right part for Emily Blunt. I love you regardless of this trash, Emily!

Don't cry, Emily. It's OK to be bored. You'll choose a better role next time though. Smile :)

      I walked out of the movie a bit confused. I honestly thought that The Huntsman: Winter's War would be an intense animosity between two sisters (Freya and Revenna) that leads to an all out war, as the trailers show. This isn't the case at all. Forbidden love is the bulk of what this movie is about, with a little bit of going places, beating up people/fantasy type creatures, and retrieving the mirror. There is just too much going on when it's not called for. For example, Charlize Theron's Revenna is revived from the mirror and says that she wasn't dead or alive. There is no explanation as to what this means or how she even appears out of the mirror. There's no question about it: Charlize Theron was a wasted talent in The Huntsman: Winter's War. Stuff like this makes roll my eyes because it wasn't necessary to have her be there, or if the director and the writers did want her to be there, they could have incorporated her into the story a lot better.

Whoa! Well I can confidently say that Charlize always gives it her all.

      The Huntsman: Winter's War isn't unwatchable, however. It sounds like a bad thing to say that it isn't so bad it's unwatchable, but I can see people who really are into the dark part of Disney franchises would be into this. I did enjoy some of the fighting sequences, one especially with the goblin which I enjoyed. It isn't perfect, but it's a positive something to leave the theater with. Also, Chris Hemsworth is just as charming as he is in most of his movies. Unfortunately, those two factors of The Huntsman: Winter's War was not enough to save the disastrous work that the director gave to everyone. I understand that it's his first big movie too, and for that, I commend him for trying. I just think that Nicolas-Troyan should stick to his visual effects work since that's where he shines. I was interested in the world that this movie took place in. Fairies, goblins, dwarves, queens, and wars are all part of a great fantasy world. I'm certain that The Huntsman: Winter's War had the potential to be something incredibly interesting.

Just look at these stills! There is potential for a good fantasy movie here, but so much was wasted.

      The more I think about The Huntsman: Winter's War, the more I don't want to think about it. I honestly want to see more of this world, knowing it's a Disney driven and dark fantasy world. It sucks that I had to fight myself from not going to sleep during the movie, though. Dull characters with insipid dialogue made it difficult for me to deal with this movie overall. I also feel bad for all of the actors and actresses in this movie because you (possibly) and I know they all have solid repertoires in their filmography. Unfortunate choices led them to this definite throw-away of a movie that was unnecessary to begin with.

2.0/5

PRO

• Makes you want to know more about the fantasy world surrounding the story
• Chris Hemsworth and some fight scenes, I guess

CON

• So boring
• Stiff acting all around
• Sorry, Emily. Not your best (probably your worst, actually)
• Unnecessary subplots were thrown around

The Huntsman: Winter's War is rated PG-13 for fantasy action violence and some sensuality

Click here to watch the trailer

The Huntsman: Winter's War is in theaters everywhere now

      Thank you for reading my review, everybody! I really appreciate it. Please subscribe to my blog and follow me on Facebook here and Twitter here to get updates on new reviews and trailer drops. Also, if you've seen The Huntsman: Winter's War, comment and let me know what you think of it. Thanks again!