Blanche-Neige et le Chasseur

Based on the German fairy tale Snow White, 'Snow White and the Huntsman' is A Visual Masterstroke, that comes across a delight to the eyes. And even in terms of story-telling, this dark adaptation gets it right.

'Snow White and the Huntsman' Synopsis: In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen.

'Snow White and the Huntsman' is gorgeous to look at. Each Frame looks magical thanks to the magnificent Cinematography by Greig Fraser & The Fantastic Graphics, that compliment the film.

Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock & Hossein Amini's Screenplay gives a twist in the tale of Snow White, making it dark & violent, but that works on its advantage, as its refreshing. Rupert Sanders Directs this fantasy-adventure superbly. His execution, in terms of visuals, is ovation worthy. Costume & Art Design are flawless.

Performance-Wise: Kristen Stewart as Snow White, delivers a sincere performance. Charlize Theron as Queen Ravenna, is purely evil. Chris Hemsworth as Eric the Huntsman, is fantastic. Ian McShane as Beith, Bob Hoskins as Muir, Johnny Harris as Quert, Toby Jones as Coll, Eddie Marsan as Duir, Ray Winstone as Gort & Brian Gleeson as Gus, are lovable as The Dwarfs.

On the whole, 'Snow White and the Huntsman' is a certainly a story worth watching.

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

** (out of 4)

2012 will be the year of Snow White as here comes the fourth version of the classic tale behind MIRROR MIRROR as well as two direct-to-DVD releases. This one here features Kristen Stewart playing Snow White who gets thrown from her kingdom by the wicked Queen (Charlize Theron) who is in need of her youth. Soon a Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) is called upon to capture Snow White but when he understands what is going on he decides to join forces with her. SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN is a pretty looking film but there's really no meat on its bones and in the end we're left with a rather lifeless production that has some good stuff but in the end the film is just downright dull. There are quite a few problems with the picture but we can start with the casting. Stewart has proved herself to be a good actress and her work in stuff like THE RUNAWAYS have proved this but sadly she's miscast here. That dark, laid back approach works perfectly in TWILIGHT but here is just boring and it's quite obvious that this Snow White couldn't lead an ant colony let alone a kingdom. Not for a second did I believe Stewart in the role and the lack of a personality here really went against everything the character was. Theron isn't much better as the Queen. It's really hard to believe the type of performance she gives here because she goes so over-the-top that it reaches a level of where you just want to scream with how annoying the performance is. I'm not sure why Theron decided to scream so much but it really didn't do anything. Hemsworth is the one saving grace here and he actually delivers a good performance and makes much more of his role than what was on the pages. Sam Claflin isn't too bad as William but he shares no chemistry with Stewart. The CGI effects are actually pretty good here and especially the stuff dealing with the mirror as well as another scene where we see the Queen crawl out of some black tar. I also thought the scenery was quite great including the black forest and the beautiful green lands. The images here are much better than any bit of the story and that's a real shame. SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN is pretty to look at but sadly there's just no emotional connection to any of the characters. Worse of all is the fact that the film really drags in spots and for an action movie it's one of the most boring I've seen in a while.

I had no desire to see this film, but when I saw it on DVD I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed it, and was engrossed. Whilst a good film, it was far from original (and I'm not talking about it being an adaptation of the Grimm Fairy Tale), in that it was reminiscent of so many other films; swashbucklers like Robin Hood (especially the old Errol Flynn type versions), The Court Jester, Lord of the Rings, The Princess Bride and anything set in Narnia to name but a few. Whilst the comparison made for unoriginal watching and a feeling that I'd seen it all before, it didn't detract from the cinematographic event and time passing pleasantly in watching the film. The SFX were very good though nothing original (very LOTR), the acting was good and I disagree with other reviewers that say that Kristen Stewart was no good... I liked her performance, certainly better than Twilight, so she's not gregarious but I think she pitched the character well and she didn't write it! Chris Hemsworth was Thor-tastic, he's an incredible physical presence and I really liked his character and he was central to the modern take on the story. Of course Charlize Theron stole the show - she was sublime; beautiful, devious, broken, cunning, cruel, magnificently evil and absolutely barking mad, and the CGI surrounding her person and character were brilliant. The Dwarfs were played hobbit-style by various actors including the wonderful Nick Frost who had some good one-liners. The Dwarfs were a lot of the comedy of the story.

There were gripping moments throughout the film, lots of humour and fantasy and a great deal of daring-do-type action and overall It was very watchable. Snow White (the Disney version) was the first film I ever saw at the cinema, and I apparently was very frightened by some of the more psychologically disturbing imagery, which I question for children even now. Whilst I wouldn't recommend this for children, especially as it's live action rather than animation, the mental images - the psychological impact - aren't that different. A good family film if the children are a little older and there's certainly something in it for everyone.

Not bad....Pretty good re-imagining of classic tale. Main complaint:the lead actress with her forever wooden performance,really got on my nerves...

Out of all the actors in the world, why did they choose Kristen Stewart to play the main role? Just why?