Huntsman: Winter’s War, the spin-off of Snow White & The Huntsman is in theatres. The film features some of the most interesting names in Hollywood today -- Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt and Nick Frost among others.
So, does this outing live up to its predecessor? Well, Huntsman: Winter’s War is set in the same Snow White world, but the timelines are a bit confusing.
It begins with Queen Ravenna’s sister Freya becoming the Ice Queen after her lover betrays her and kills their child. Distraught and losing all hope in love, the Ice Queen forms her own army of Huntsmen and a kingdom which has just one rule – no love.
But of course, someone has to break the rule for us to have a movie. So, 2 soldiers from her army of Hunstmen – Eric and Sara – fall in love and decide to elope.
However, Freya foils their plan and creates a misunderstanding between them -- while one believes that the other has died, the other suspects betrayal. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
The film has several twists that keep the audience interested throughout, even if one hasn’t seen the first film. The performances are all rock solid, but at the end of the day, it’s too much in too little time. One feels for the actors, particularly Charlize and Emily.
The love story of Eric and Sara, seemingly the crux of the film, is not fleshed out, leaving the audience a bit confused. In fact, the two don't even have a chance to show off any chemistry, being surrounded by dwarves, goblins and whatnot every breathing moment.
The film fails in the screenplay and direction departments as well. One of the biggest twists is directed in such a mundane manner, the audiences end up underwhelmed. The film has been directed by first-timer Cedric Nicolas-Troyan.
The action sequences are good, but there are plenty of failed opportunities to create those couple of ‘aha’ moments. After all, this is a fantasy-adventure film, the audience wants to be enthralled!
The biggest flaw is in the graphics. For a film that should essentially create a whole new world, the graphics should have been much better.
Even if the audience ignore all these aspects, there are a few plot-holes that are glaring and bring down the entire product.
Thumbnail Image Source: techtimes