Snow White’s a pretty well trodden story, but out of nowhere 2012 saw two new interpretations of the old classic. While Julia Roberts’ Mirror Mirror went down the sweeter side of the spectrum, Snow White and the Huntsman opted for more of a macabre tale.
Released on DVD on September 11th 2012, it may not be a classic as such, but it does a fairly good job of bringing even more darkness to the evil stepmom inspired story. It also did a good enough job with box office takings to inspire Universal Pictures to green light the prequel/sequel to the film in 2016’s The Huntsman: Winter’s War, so while the reviews are middle of the road, it still managed to draw in pretty good audiences.
Charlize Theron (The Road) is impressive in the role of the image-obsessed dark queen with a strong on-screen relationship with the golden mirror and its Mirror Man incarnation, voiced by Christopher Obi. She always brings a lot of depth to her characters and her role in Snow White And The Huntsman is no exception. She goes from searing beauty to harrowed hag with frightening ease and delivered an unhinged and dangerous performance, stealing the show.
Kristen Stewart (On The Road) is much less complex in her delivery of the runaway Snow White as she battles with the truth about her childhood and the devastation that follows her flight. Emotion doesn’t flow easily from the character, which takes a little away from the potential of the film.
Chris Hemsworth (Avengers) does a pretty good job as the Huntsman with a decent back story and a shady characterisation, which is probably why he’ll be back in The Hunstman: Winter’s War. However, one of the best elements of the film has got to be the incorporation of Nick Frost (Attack The Block), Bob Hoskins, Ian McShane and Ray Winston as the more recognisable of the seven dwarfs in the film. The make-up and special effects to make them small looks genius (although it didn’t win the film any friends in the little people community) and there’s a self deprecating humour in their dialogue and appearance in the storyline, which adds to the likability of the film.
The CGI effects are very cool at times, combining with good set design and costumes to deliver a visually impressive movie. It may not be perfect, but it does look good.
The longevity of the Snow White And The Huntsman DVD is wrapped up in the brutal portrayal of the queen by Charlize Theron and the funny dwarfs more so than the adventure itself, or the love story between Snow White and the Huntsman. It’s definitely worth watching, so one for your hire list, but hard to say how many times it could be replayed. Maybe as a tame intro to a Halloween fright night.
Snow White And The Huntsman DVD review: 3.2/5
