The Huntsman: Winter's War (Quick Review)

No one expected The Huntsman: Winter’s War to be good, but a select few (such as myself) did expect it to be fun.

Just from viewing the trailers, I knew The Huntsman was unmistakably a popcorn film, and with popcorn films my mind takes a backseat.  It’s almost like a deal: I reel in my critical thinking—allowing plot holes and cheesiness to slip by with minimal complaining—in exchange for glorious, mindless entertainment—whether it be outlandish action, wacky comedy, and/or colorful characters.  Logic is not expected from a popcorn film, but amusement is—and where it stands, The Huntsman is fairly dull.  There’s an inexcusable lack of action, the comedy is scarce and unfunny, and the pacing gets lethargic on multiple occasions.

To be fair, The Huntsman isn’t entirely lackluster; Chris Hemsworth (as the huntsman) and Jessica Chastain (as the warrior) give enjoyably relaxed and easygoing performances, managing to make their few fight scenes mildly entertaining.  Hemsworth achieves making the film’s only funny joke, and I admire how the film utilizes the warrior’s “never misses” motto into her apparent betrayal.  Charlize Theron reprises her role as the evil queen, playing it desirably over the top—unfortunately, her role here is small, and appears only during the opening scene and finale.  To replace her is Emily Blunt as the ice queen, who’s about as lifeless as the ice itself.  There’s a noticeable lack of epicness and creativity when it comes to the film’s action scenes—with its so-called “war” being nothing more than a few small scrimmages, in addition to blatantly replicating The Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia.  Lengthy sequences are dedicated to the (non) comic relief characters, dragging on long beyond their welcome.  I went to the bathroom during a “downtime” scene, and came back several minutes later to find the scene had barely changed—my wife commenting how I had missed nothing.

The Huntsman has a frustrating issue with setting up plot points that go nowhere, such as the ice queen’s fear of fire, and the dwarfs’ covert infiltration during the finale (where they completely disappear until the battle is over).  To be fair, there’s nothing I hated about The Huntsman, (though the dwarfs were close to pissing me off), and there are some entertaining moments/scenes thanks to Hemsworth, Chastain and Theron.  Yet, overall, The Huntsman is fairly dull, forgettable, and an entirely unneeded sequel to a film I actually enjoy.  Bottom line, go watch Snow White and the Huntsman instead: it’s similar to this film, except actually entertaining.