The Huntsman: Winter´s War

There are so many generations of children, who grew up to the classic story tale of Snow White. The story of Snow White, who eats an apple, with poison. We all know the story of the seven dwarfs, the evil queen, and the prince who awakens Snow White, and the happy ending. I think we need classic stories to keep us fascinated. As a child, you learn to see from a different perspective, and you want to dream about another world, where anything could happen. Stories like Snow White may not be very realistic, but the tale is still today loved by children, and adults. The animated adaptation of Snow White, released in 1937 from Disney, is one of the most classic animated films ever made. If you look at this film today, the animation is still very good looking, considering it was made almost 70 years ago. Different film adaptations have been made, borrowing the Snow White theme in Hollywood, and you can understand why. Some classic stories will always be loved, even how many times they have been told. One of these film adaptations i can recommend, is the 1997 film called Snow White: A Tale Of Terror. This film manage to stay solid, thanks to great acting from Sigourney Weaver and Sam Neil. Not a classic in any way, but still worth to watch. In 2012, director Rupert Sanders, made his directorial debut film Snow White And The Huntsman, a film that used the Snow White story, and made a more modern take on the classic tale. It was a nice adaptation, and had some epic battle scenes, where even Snow White, played by Kristen Stewart, got to fight with weapons. Even if the film did not deliver all the way, it still proved that you can make different adaptations of classic stories, as long as you know how to handle the material. One of my favourite characters of this film is Charlize Theron as the evil Snow Queen, her evil look and body language was just what this film needed. After i saw this film in the cinemas, i already had a feeling that we would see a sequel, at some point. And here we are, we have a sequel in our hands, but there is a difference. Kristen Stewart is no longer here, and Snow White is not included at all. Chris Hemsworth is back, so is Charlize Theron, and some new cast members. With a new director on board, and a different story this time, is this still a solid sequel, or should they have stayed within the traditional story ?

Long before the Queen Ravenna ( Charlize Theron ) died, she learned that her sister Freja ( Emily Blunt ) is pregnant, from a secret affair with Andrew: Duke Of Blackwood ( Colin Morgan ). This child is told to be the fairest of them all. Freya gives birth to a healthy baby girl, but the happiness does not last very long. Andrew kill their child, and in hateful fury, Freya kill Andrew with her long-suppressed ice powers. Freya abandon the kingdom, and build herself a ice palace in the north. Here she also build up an army of children soldiers, to make sure that their young hearts are forever hardened. Huntsman Eric ( Chris Hemsworth ) and Sara ( Jessica Chastain ), two of the most trustful warriors of Freya, is in love. Freya finds out and confront them, making an enormous ice wall, separating Eric and Jessica, as Eric watches how his fellow huntsmen kill Sara. 7 years after Ravenna´s death, King William ( Sam Claflin ) inform Eric, that the magic mirror have been stolen. Eric plan to find the mirror, with the help of Snow White´s dwarf ally Nion ( Nick Frost ) and his half-brother Gryff ( Rob Brydon ). On their journey to find the magic mirror, Eric and his fellowship is attacked by Freya´s huntsmen. But they manage to survive, and rescued by Sara, who is actually alive. Eric understand that Freya have other plans, and that if the mirror gets in the wrong hands, they will all be doomed. But is Freya their biggest threat, or is there another side of the story ?

The first film Snow White And The Huntsman was actually an entertaining combination of classic adventure, and historical action scenery. Not anything special, just a nice try to make a different take on Snow White. I had a feeling that there would be a sequel, already back when the first movie came out. It is not hard to tell that Hollywood will do anything to bring in the big bucks, at any moment they can. The Huntsman: Winters War is a sequel, and a prequel, but here there is no Snow White, in fact, this film is more based on Freya, played by Emily Blunt. I have no problem if you make a film, based on a different character. In this case, the basic idea of the world of Snow White, it feels pretty strange that she is not even here at all. When the first film tried to keep the traditional story of Snow White, with a modern twist, you could feel that they wanted to make sure you recognize yourself. This sequel is more of a Lord Of The Rings spin off. Really ? Yes, but not in a good way. What we basically have here is a very simple action adventure, that tries to go outside the Snow White concept from the first film, and that is a mistake. They should have stayed within the classic story, even if they had to make changes. Chris Hemsworth does his porridge speak, as he usually does, and you can´t avoid to laugh sometimes. I do like him as an actor in the Thor films, and in the Avengers films, but in this sequel , he have too much to handle to save this film. He is not completely awful, but they don´t really give him enough space, where we would have wanted to see him do more epic battles. Charlize Theron as the evil Snow Queen, is one of the few highlights here, her dress looks fantastic, and she does fit as her character. Emily Blunt as the Snow Queen´s sister Freya, does manage to make a few good scenes, but overall this film feels just too simple. No unexpected turns, no surprises, just an ordinary action adventure film like so many others. Director Cedric Nicolas- Troyan, was the second unit director of Snow White And The Huntsman, as well as second unit director on the film Maleficent. He clearly likes this genre, in the story telling world genre. The problem is that he does not really use the material in a good way. He tries to make some good looking action scenes, and combine this with long walks that remind of of Lord Of The Rings. But it does not work. Everything is not awful, but there are plenty of details that he could have fixed along the way. As a sequel, The Huntsman: Winter´s War does not really bring anything, that you need to see. The first film is more entertaining, and managed to bring the audience a more solid adventure. Since this sequel ( or prequel ? ) is not doing so well in the box office worldwide, i hope they won´t make a third film. Sometimes it is better to throw in the towel and finish in time, in this case they decided to do it too late.

Rating: DD