so! reviewing the snow white movie..:
in a nutshell, I give it 3.6/5. Its a pretty nice and good movie to watch, and I really enjoyed watching it. Hmm where do I start.. I guess I should split my commentary into a few sections.
general: plot, environment etc.
okay well, it IS a snow white movie so there are definitely elements of the fairytale in this: the evil queen, snow white, the dwarves, the huntsman, and THE MIRROR! take all these characters, mash them up, put them in a fantasy setting with a dark and gritty edge to it, and you get Snow White & The Huntsman. No, there's no prince here. Yes, there's a kiss scene. And thank LORD the one who woke snow white up was NOT her childhood sweetheart, but the huntsman. and also thank LORD that there wasn't any real romance and the epilogue ended just right. Why do I say this? read it in the next section. I went in the theatre not really expecting anything much as I had already seen what would be going on in the movie after watching the 5-minute trailer on youtube. I wish I hadn't done that. But regardless, since rotten tomatoes gave it a bad rating of about 46%, I didn't want to think about "expectations" and start criticizing the movie while watching it. I wanted to enjoy this movie for what it was, I wanted to enjoy a movie that was in a fantasy setting with horse-riding scenes that stole my heart away with the background orchestral sounds accompanying it. I really loved the mounted knights galloping into battles. I always love these types of scenes. Loved it. So epic.
I'm also quite biased for british fantasy settings. Not really because of LOTR, but I just love the idea of knights in armor being all valiant - that's a man I say. I'm sold. Lol. With all that strength and courage to face a battle - that's a man. That's MY kind of heart throbe. Haha.
I also really liked the forbidden forest, and the enchanted forest after that. the troll was so cute. the enchanted fairy forest was really quite beautiful - in a rough sort of way. Don't get me wrong - I loved that forest for looking both beautiful and yet wild and untamed - it was like a natural forest in a world where everything else was desolated. for a snow white film, these forests are a must. no, there's no singing nor dancing in this forest, thank goodness. It was like a transition into another world that was untouched by man. This was the only environment in the movie that I actually paid more attention to. The rest of the environments/settings - like the castle, the throne room, the great hall - I didn't pay much attention to, nor did the movie fill me in on the details of where was what and what was where. it was just scene after scene like walking a straight trail that didn't permanently split at all. that was what the whole journey in the story felt like too. its a linear plot, that's it. but I like how it was done - so that's that.
the only thing that I didn't exactly buy in this story was how SHORT the climax was. was it supposed to be a climax or a conclusion? seemed like both to me actually. or rather, there wasn't much building up, nor climax, nor conclusion. the story doesn't seem written that way. it was really just a linear plot, one part transitioning into another. and I also don't have a map of how the world in snow white looks like - but if the director was banging on his audience to know what lies after each location, then there's no need of a map, and I was sold on his assumptions. so it was alright. no complaints. I just want to enjoy this movie for what it is. in a sense, its an "epic" movie - not in The Avengers sort of way, but in a rather a simple, dark, gritty manner. its basically snow white and darkness packed into one small box. I'd remake this movie into a drama if I could. I'd want to show more background, more settings, expand on the world and its characters. regardless, this was a pretty satisfactory movie. I wasn't asking much, so I got more than what I wanted, on the surface. I enjoyed it for it being simple and not trying to be complicated and messing itself up in the proces, period.
characters and their actors/actresses
Snow white and her childhood friend didn't have alot of interactions when they finally reunite almost a decade later so thank goodness it wasn't his kiss that woke her up -_- it was the huntsman's kiss that did. and that was the only "romance" in the movie, really. thank goodness they didn't go for the "snow white and the huntsman fall for each other along the way" side-story because that would have been devastating. kristen stewart and chris hemsworth are not meant to be an on-screen couple. no. I have no idea how old the huntsman(chris hemsworth's character) is in the movie, but as the huntsman, he seems like ten years older than young snow white, who's age is probably around 16. its not about their ages that aren't compatible, its how stewart and hemsworth don't have much chemistry and hence they aren't compatible. well, the huntsman can fall in love with her, but not the other way around - not while snow white is portrayed by stewart. hell I wouldn't mind a BOOK about snow white and the huntsman falling in love along the way, but in this movie, NO. thank goodness it didn't happen. talking about a book.. since I felt that the movie could have been deeper, I think a book would have done this story more justice, while the movie would just be a prelude or a brush on the surface of something better. I would have loved to see deeper stories and semi-plotlines about the characters in this movie but then it would take a drama, rather than a movie, to do it. maybe I should write my own Snow White & The Huntsman. that would satisfy (the girl in) me alot more. HAHAHA. I'm a sucker for romance. Especially when its between a reluctant person and a princess who's strong in her own right, as characters. not the actors or actresses who portrayed them. as characters in a BOOK, when you can imagine how they look like on your own, they can fall in love. but in this movie, NO.
that said, I was sold on how kristen stewart and chris hemsworth acted out their own characters. this is a story about a princess who is strong, young and beautiful, and goes into battle, and I was more or less convinced enough throughout the whole movie that kristen was suitable enough for this role. I don't care of people think she's not beautiful enough, I think she had an inner beauty as snow white - that's what sold me on it. I was convinced by snow white that she IS the snow white *for this movie*. Innocent and yet mature enough, she has the "destined" look about her when you watch how snow white carries herself, she's got that "I don't know realize it, but I'm actually on a totally different level than you in terms of being mysteriously beautiful and destined for something.". The only thing I wasn't really sold on was the last part of the movie when she started taking up the role of a leader - that part didn't suit her. but at least it was only for a short while. by right, snow white is an inexperienced fighter from what I've been shown in the movie, but she has survival instincts. or rather... it seems that alot of "traits" were built into snow white as a character and you aren't shown how she develops them - she can ride a horse, she can hold a blade and swing it right, she knows how to run on very uneven ground in the dark forest(but of course she trips and falls as per normal). we aren't shown how she learnt to do these things, they were just built in the character. nevermind, its alright. I still bought it and didn't question it- because afterall, I wanted to enjoy this movie, not criticize it for what it didn't show me. ^^ at the end of the day, during the battle, I could really see that at least the director didn't ruin her as a leader by making her shout commands. it was as if her army was there only to buy her time to kill the queen. that was her only role - to find and kill the queen, not overturn the queen's army. you can see that snow white is still snow white - she is small and petite when standing before the queen, she TRIES to fight, and not TRULY fight. if she did, I would NOT have been sold on this character. snow white-kristen stewart is not angelina jolie, period. I think the movie was careful enough not to make me doubt snow white as a character. in this movie, to me, snow white is supposed to be an inexperienced swordsman/leader, that's it. if she fought REALLY WELL, that would have totally torn the character apart.
now for the huntsman.. granted, chris hemsworth is far too overwhelming an actor to JUST BE AN HUNTSMAN. but his handsome rugged-type face AND HOT BOD was toned down by him wearing a huntsman's clothing, and all that facial hair and dirt make-up on his face made it convincing enough. the camera angle on him made him seem alot shorter than he actually is IRL, which also sold me on his huntsman role. his behavior and the things he said made it convincing enough that though chris hemsworth is in this role, HE IS NOT THOR IN HERE. thank goodness. he plays the protective guardian in this movie, like snow white's right hand man. from beginning to end, it felt to me as if the huntsman gradually could see for himself that snow white is special and important to the kingdom, and that he feels obliged to protect her from harm till the time comes when she has to kill the queen. and protect her he does. it felt as if he was gradually drawn to her, to protect her as her knight, and it didn't matter if he didn't end up as her prince charming. you couldn't really feel his anguish when she died from the poisoned apple, but you could understand his grief that "whoever I am close to, dies" since he had a wife who died prior to the movie's timeline. he was grieving over her death and, having been drawn closer to snow white throughout the whole journey, she became somewhat of an important person to him - the movie showed this. so it felt appropriate that it was HIS KISS that resurrected snow white, NOT her childhood sweetheart's. I was sold on the snow white X huntsman pairing, sorry childhood sweetheart william. they're both good-looking though :p there's nothing to say about the huntsman's action/fighting scenes because THIS IS CHRIS HEMSWORTH. THERE'S NO QUESTIONING HIS ACTION SCENES. CHRIS HEMSWORTH IS A NATURAL FOR ACTION SCENES. so what can I say? I'm sold on the huntsman - I liked him enough. or rather, alot. because its chris hemsworth in a role of the hunter who slowly finds himself drawn to the mysterious yet beautiful snow white and falling for who she is. THANK GOD HE DID NOT DIE. I would've RAGED TILL HELL BLEW OVER, if he did. and THANK GOODNESS they didn't show a second kiss scene between snow white and the huntsman. it was the huntsman who slowly fell for her, not the other way round. if you observed the first time the huntsman saw her - his expression was already a foretelling that HE was the one who'd be slowly drawn to her. it would've been beyond weird if after being coronated, she ran and jumped into his arms and smiled all happily. but at least, during the last scene, he was the last person (i.e. most important person) that snow white noticed while she stood in front of her new throne in the great hall that was flanked left and right with people. during that scene, the huntsman was right at the back near the great doors, slowly walking towards the center from the sides behind the crowd while looking at her, and snow white's eyes followed his every stride. that was the most important ending scene to me. basically, at this point, it was acknowledged that the huntsman became somewhat of an important person to snow white. in short, I love you, huntsman. I adore you, chris hemsworth. that's it.
the evil queen? there's no questioning her. I was sold on her character and how she was portrayed. the only irky complaint I have is how... a little over-the-top her screaming was. it would've been better if she screamed more naturally. I don't know how to put it, but that was how I felt. other than that, the evil queen, WAS THE EVIL QUEEN.
and that's all I have to say about Snow White & The Huntsman. (: I'm pretty tempted to buy the blu-ray/dvd for this movie, and Thor, and The Avengers..
