YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Instagram
Jim Milton
Before Snow White, there was The Huntsman: Winter’s War. Theron stars as evil Queen Ravenna, who betrays her good sister Freya (Blunt) with an unforgiveable act, freezing Freya’s heart to love and unleashing in her an icy power she never knew she possessed. As war escalates between the two queens, Eric the Huntsman (Hemsworth), and his fellow warrior, Sara (Chastain), must help Freya vanquish her sister… or Ravenna’s wickedness will rule for eternity.
2116, Color, Rated PG-13, 1 hour 54 minutes
1080p, DTS-MA (DTS:X)5.1, 2.40:1 Aspect Ratio
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt & Jessica Chastain
Directed By: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan
Rating
Violence: Yes (No gore)
Sex: No
Language: Mild
Though it is visually stunning with some nice looking CGI, the story is a mash up of LOTR and Snow White. I know the credits say that this tale happens before the Snow White story, but the only tie between stories is a magic mirror. The rest of the story is about the importance of love. Apparently if you lack love you become a cold hearted…ah…queen. Theron has been playing baddies lately (Mad Max& Prometheus) and movie continues her mean role playing.
Secrets Sponsor
The acting is competent, but I am getting tired of “fairy tales” all being done with British Isle accents. Chastain’s character felt a bit out of place, like her part should have gone to someone else… someone tougher. The dwarves were played by regular sized people (Nick Frost was amusing) and their role was mostly for comedic effect. (At least Tolkien respected his dwarves).Overall, the story seemed to slog to the already predictable conclusion and left you feeling underwhelmed at the end of 2 hours. Proving once again, not every movie deserves a sequel. This movie left me cold.
Sound and vision wise, this movie looked excellent. The CGI was perhaps a bit overused with too many fantasy creatures roaming in the background. Colors really popped and contrast within the dark scenes all looked great. I wish I could have seen this in 4K/HDR, but it wouldn’t have helped the story line. Good disc, bad story.
Included are a digital copy of The Huntsman: Winter’s War, an UltraViolet copy, deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, a gag reel, Winter’s Vistas: The Making of the Huntsman: Winter’s War and a feature commentary with director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan.