The Huntsman: Winter's War

The castle scenes in Winter’s War were copied and pasted from the first instalment and the scenes in the woods looked like they were taken from a cheap TV fairytale. There are no other scenes and as a whole it suffers from a hopelessly contrived script and either half-baked or simply failed direction. The poor quality of Winter’s War is in stark contrast to the A-list cast. (25/04/2016)

As I wasn’t very engaged by what The Huntsman: Winter’s War had to offer, I found myself in the cinema wondering who this borderline campy hybrid of Frozen and Game of Thrones was actually made for. For younger viewers, The Huntsman does not offer any age-appropriate characters that they can identify with; for older ones, there’s a lot of adolescent dwarf humour and few multi-dimensional characters whose decisions are motivated by anything other than the demands of the genre (approximately none). Like the previous instalment, to which The Huntsman is both a prequel and a sequel (as well as a spin-off), the film tries to appeal mainly to female viewers. It tries to convince us of its feminist essence not only through the numerical superiority of female characters, but also through at least one forced declaration of female independence. However, actions do not always correspond to words and the women’s independence is mostly illusory. It is natural to form a couple. Women without a partner are at the very least emotionally unstable and one of them compensates for the impossibility of self-realisation through raising a child by raising her own personal army of Hitler Youth, with whose assistance she then proceeds to conquer the surrounding kingdoms (because she can). Just as the plot is a patchwork of clichés from adventure and fantasy movies, the stereotypes of vain, unreadable and bitter people with no sense of humour are recycled in the portrayal of the female characters (especially in contrast to Erik and the two dwarves, who ceaselessly joke around). Not even the concept of the Nietzschean superwoman who ruthlessly eliminates every man who crosses her path is applied here with the same consistency as last time (or as in practically any given pre-Code film with Barbara Stanwyck). It is not surprising that the film’s director, as a visual-effects specialist, is as fascinated with the superficial as the self-centred Ravenna is. I am surprised, however, that the effects are often not very good (in particular, the large kingdom units look like something from an above-average video game). In general, Winter’s War comes across as a derivative of a successful film made out of obligation and without much dedication; Colleen Atwood’s spectacular costumes (of which we are made thoroughly aware through various overhead shots and close-ups) are truly convincing. If Snow White had shown up, Winter’s War, which at best works as a bad comedy, might have been able to better justify its existence. 50% (21/04/2016)

I got what I expected. And even though I wasn't expecting much, it's actually good. The Huntsman: Winter's War doesn't surprise with anything, certainly not with the story and twists, but as a fairy tale fantasy one-shot it's pretty good. Mostly because of the cast. Chris Hemsworth fits the role of the axe-wielding brawler and doesn't push him into any great acting, Charlize Theron enjoys the baddie, Emily Blunt manages to inspire both fear and pity (within the confines of the genre, of course), and Jessica Chastain is sexy even when she's chopping people's arms off. The visual effects are quite good and there is always something happening on screen during the less than two hours, so boredom doesn't set in and that voice that whispers that you are actually watching a completely useless movie is never so loud that you have to take it seriously. Overall, it comes out to be two hours of above average easygoing entertainment with a solid amount of skillfully filmed action and a fine adventure atmosphere. Only the dwarf humor misses the mark a bit. Overall, nothing great, but a pretty good film that stands up more or less without problems next to the first one. (15/05/2017)

It’s quite messy. I understand they want to make money, but to build a mythology around the character of the hunter is weird. (25/12/2016)

Basically the same fantasy average that wants to be above average, just like last time. Even having Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain and Charlize Theron in one film does not mean that it will be a good film. Not that I was offended by The Huntsman, but somehow I was still waiting for something really big to happen... And then came the end of the story. I was really pleased with the way in which the filmmakers (did not) bring the character of Snow White to the film, because this confirmed that Jára Cimrman and his Hamlet without Hamlet was once again ahead of its time. (05/07/2021)

The Huntsman: Winter War cleverly embraces the story of Snow White, so the film could have done without the participation of Kristen Stewart, who, after all, was not a suitable choice for "the most beautiful of all". In addition, the film shines with a stellar cast, with Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain joining Charlize Theron. Unfortunately, it's a shame that this time Theron didn't get as much space as in the first part. Anyway, if I were to compare the sequel with the first one, I liked Snow White and the Huntsman better. I found it more visually flamboyant, it didn't include so many over-sweetened romantic lines (the dwarves) and, as I said, it gave more space to the Evil Queen (but the Ice Queen had a lot of potential as well). An average sequel that's nice to watch and listen to (Halsey's "Castle" title song), and while it doesn't disgrace itself on the one hand, it still could have been better. (10/05/2016)

I was puzzled when the sequel was announced because it wasn't immediately clear what the continuation would entail. After watching it, it's quite apparent that it was a marketing move. The first installment was captivating, and similar films are trending now, so they churn out a quickie with interesting actors and an uninteresting script, and it will target a wide audience. This is boring. (26/09/2016)

Although the cast is more than good, it's B-movie status is surprisingly obvious. It completely deserves to be a flop because it's filmed and directed in a truly pathetic and sloppy way. As a result, I must say: compared to this, part one was great. (03/07/2016)