When Princess Snow White (Kristen Stewart) escapes from the prison cell where her now dead father’s wicked wife (Charlize Theron) put her, the new queen sends a troubled huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) out to catch her. The old fairy tale gets a makeover (released the same year as another version, Mirror Mirror) that should send audiences away with a yearning for traditional Disney. This preposterous take has its visually attractive moments, but they drown in relentless darkness, militaristic nonsense and Theron’s (admittedly amusing) overacting.
2012-U.S. 127 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Rupert Sanders. Screenplay: Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock, Hossein Amini. Song: “Breath of Life” (performed by Florence + The Machine). Cast: Kristen Stewart (Snow White), Charlize Theron (Ravenna), Chris Hemsworth (The Huntsman), Sam Claflin, Sam Spruell, Ian McShane… Bob Hoskins, Eddie Marsan, Ray Winstone, Toby Jones.
Trivia: Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder were allegedly considered for the role of Ravenna; Viggo Mortensen as the Huntsman. Hoskins’s last film. Followed by The Huntsman: Winter’s War (2016).
Razzie: Worst Actress (Stewart).
