Snow White and the Huntsman

So, being a Kristen Stewart fan, I was destined to love this movie and was uber excited when it finally came out. It swept first place this last weekend and in fact I saw some crazy people waiting in line an hour before hand for the 11 oclock showing on Saturday night. It's already brought in about $100 million worldwide in it's first weekend and will no doubt surpass it's $170 million budget.

The movie stars Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, and Chris Hemsworth in the dark and twisted version of the classic story in stark contrast to this year's earlier Mirror Mirror. (Interestingly, Lily Collins tried out for the part in this movie and lost to Kristen Stewart, however later landing the lead in Mirror Mirror). It's basically the classic tale told as a fantasy war story instead of the dopey romance we've come to know and love.

The plot kept all of the familiar elements but made them feel a little bit more adult. The plot felt like a mixture of fantasy and a historical period piece. Of course there was a love triangle thrown into the mix which (kinda) made sense. I read some negative reviews about the dialogue and I'll agree that it wasn't anything spectacular but the real spectacle came from the visual effects anyway. The ending was horribly contrived and abrupt, but the pace in the rest of the movie flowed quite nicely.

This was a beautiful movie. The CG imagery and effects are almost unparalleled (at least so far this year). Unfortunately, the biggest and best effects were already revealed in the trailers. The set design, wardrobe, and sound mixing made everything feel dark and moody and was just a stunning piece of work all around, cinematically speaking.

Well of course I think that Kristen Stewart did a great job. I love her non-verbal acting, although I'm sure the haters will still hold to their opinions. I think she even pulled off a believable English accent. Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron also just as good. There was great acting all around, I just wish that they had been given more substance to the dialogue, but even with the simple plot advancing lines they had, they were all believable and showed their emotions perfectly.

In the end, I thought this was a good movie. Which is a first. I've loved all of Kristen Stewart's movies, thus far. I don't love this movie nor do I think it's horrible. It was on par with what I was expecting. Unfortunately all of the visuals were revealed in the trailers for the movie and there were very few surprises since the most striking part of the movie were the visuals. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys these type of fantasy dramas. It would make a great rental movie for everyone else. "I've seen what she sees. I can kill her".