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Snow White has been revived and revised a number of times of late: this time the story gets the "sword and sorcery" treatment. Snow is no longer the sugary-sweet, completely innocent maiden we know from the Disney flick: she's still revoltingly pure but now she's plucky and strong in her own will. Kristen Stewart comes across like Bella Swan 2.0 with a broody, low-energy performance--but she really looks the part. Charlize Theron is suitably cold as the wicked Queen Ravenna but she doesn't get to go over the top. Chris Hemsworth draws on his experience playing Thor: this performance has all the gravitas but none of the fun. The Dwarfs (played by a bunch of normal-sized British Character Actors CGIed down) are a disreputable lot. The Queen gets a brother in this version (played by Ian McShane) has a thankless role as the Chief Stooge. There's a Prince (actually a Duke's son) but he's not super charming--but that's the script's fault not the Actor (Sam Claffin)--he's just not given anything to do her.
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Basically, you've seen this before: the whole movie is shot in muted tones that give the whole thing a cold, bleak tone. The costumes are adequate to the story but not over the top. The FX ran the gamut from pretty good to ho-hum. The whole tone of the movie is solemn and it evens ends on an ambiguous note: for me though--fairy tales need to end with "happily ever after" but this one never pays out. Neither Robyn or I enjoyed the movie but I think it might speak to the collective angst that the younger generation seems to love so maybe it just wasn't made for me.
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FINAL GRADE: B-
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Lets be brutally honest: neither Snow White And The Huntsman nor Mirror Mirror NEEDS to be seen on the big screen. Still, you might want to rent the video for one or the other some time down the line so I'm going to give you a comparison guide to decide which one (if any) you might want to spend your hard-earned cash on.
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SNOW WHITE: Lily Collins has it all over Kristen Stewart in the beauty department but Kristen is way more badass. Still, I'd much rather date Lily.
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THE EVIL QUEEN: Julia Roberts get the wardrobe and the over the top rants (not to mention a much better wardrobe) but Charlize Theron gets the award for evilest behavior.
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THE PRINCE: Army Hammer gets a much bigger part in Mirror Mirror and he has a goofy charm. Sam Claffin isn't given a lot to do so you can forgive him for being forgettable. Of course rhis movie IS titled Snow White And The Huntsman so what did you expect?
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THE DWARFS: both sets are disreputable fringies forced to evil by the actions of the Queen. Honestly neither movie really needed these guys.
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THE APPLE: yeah, Snow gets put to sleep in both flicks (however briefly) but the Apple hardly makes in impact on the either story.
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COSTUMES and SETS: Mirror Mirror wins the award for sheer creativity and spectacle (in fact these are the best things in the whole movie). Snow White And The Huntsman falls back on every 'sword and sorcery" convention you've seen since the 1970s. Mirror Mirror might score some "Oscar" noms but I doubt the other will get a mention anywhere.
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THE HUNTSMAN: this character only appears in one movie (and you should know which). His character didn't leave a lot of impression and, worst of all, (according to the Baroness at least) Chris Hemsworth keeps his shirt on through the whole movie.
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PACE and MOOD: Mirror Mirror plays like a squirrel on acid it tries to be a hybrid of action flick and romantic comedy but ends up being neither fish nor fowl. Snow White And The Huntsman has a decidedly Gothic tone: the pace is slow and deliberate. There isn't a lot of energy to move the audience to a lot of interest.
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FAMILY FRIENDLY FACTOR: Mirror Mirror has its share of action but there are fewer scary moments that might upset the kiddies. Snow White And The Huntsman is aimed more at the young adult market and nobody but the youngsters will have an issue with it.
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So now you have it all in one easy-to-compare bit. View at your own risk!
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'nuff said.
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