Review of Mirror Mirror (2012) by Nathan C — 29 Nov 2012

Visually enticing, light, and funny fluff. However, this is much better than "Snow White and the Huntsman" by far.

Anyways, there's the basic Snow White story, only Snow White isn't so harshly punished. She's merely excluded from royal affairs because of the controlling Evil Queen. She falls in love with a Prince, who the Queen wants to marry for money. After being cast out, she allies with seven dwarves and proceeds to save the kingdom and get the guy.

Compared to "The Huntsman", this is a better rendition. It's definitely more entertaining, with some campy humor and a real sense of fun. The acting overall is much better, especially Nathan Lane as a bumbling servant. Not surprisingly, Tarsem Singh ensures that we get a visual treat with captivating sets and costumes. He also has a surprising flair for comedy, which may seem offputting compared to his more dramatic works ("The Cell", for crying out loud) but is a nice change of pace.

However, the story was stretched very thin. Again, story is not Tarsem's strong suit. The film progressively becomes uneven, because it sets itself up to be a self-aware spoof but then it degenerates into generic fantasy. As much as Julia Roberts tries, Charlize Theron is still the better queen. Some of the performers were stiff. The visual effects with the Beast were cheesy, and I didn't quite understand why the EuroOriental sensibilities had to mesh into this.

All in all, it's a decent "Snow White" tale that cannot even come close to the beauty and wonder of the Disney version, but it is better than the grimly dull version that was "Snow White and the Huntsman". Maybe because it tried to be fun for once.