Review of The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016) by Filipeneto — 13 Dec 2020

The fate of most successful films is to have sequels that are reasonably more depressing than the first film. So it was with "Snow White and the Huntsman". The film was a relatively remarkable success and the production of this film, a hybrid of a prequel and a sequel, was expected.

The story centers on Queen Ravenna's sister, who instituted a reign of ice, fear and insensitivity in a territory North of the kingdom that Ravenna controlled. The story reminded me a lot of the Snow Queen, by Hans Christian Andersen. In this film, the possession of the old Ravenna's mirror is the key of the plot, after a group of soldiers who carried the accursed object had massacred each other for no reason. On the one hand, we have a group of dwarves and the Huntsman, willing to escort the mirror to safety; on the other hand, we have Freya's forces committed to steal it. The personal story of the Huntsman, who we discover to have been a member of a kind of Freya's "elite troop", and his romance with Sarah, are also important plot elements.

The film is good and entertaining, but it is far from perfect. The story told has a lot of flaws in logic and continuity. The film was able to create an interesting new villain, but Freya was never as effective and threatening as Ravenna, and is a little melodramatic. We may feel sorry for her, but we are almost never afraid of her. On the other hand, there are several moments where things become too unusual. This is the case with the Goblins sequence which, despite being one of the best action moments in the film, seemed too extravagant. There are some people who criticized this film because Snow White is basically a brown eminence who never appears. Personally, given that, in the first film, Kristen Stewart was horrible, it doesn't even seem like a bad idea to do that.

The cast has strong and well-known names. Chris Hemsworth returned to the role of the Huntsman and is totally at ease, doing a good and convincing job. The same can be said of Jessica Chastain. She looks great. I would say that both of them really liked their characters and had a good time working because not only did they seem to have fun, but they also created a convincing chemistry. The villain was played by Emily Blunt, who was sinister and insensitive as Freya. Nick Frost, Alexandra Roach, Sheridan Smith and Rob Brydon are funny and season with humor and pleasant doses of action four characters very necessary to the plot. But their exaggerated comic streak can take away some credibility. Charlize Theron also reappears as Ravenna, closer to the end, and she is good at what she does but has little to do.

Directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, the film has a fast pace and things happen quite intensely from the middle on, with more and more action and a great ending. He knew how to explore the visual and stylistic aspects of the film very well, but is less happy with the development of the characters. The costumes, in particular those for the female cast, were very well-thought-out and have a strong visual appeal. The film makes great use of the potential of CGI and computer graphics, acquiring an incredible cinematography, with vivid colors and light, grandiose sets (although somewhat imaginative) and very well done details. There are, however, very specific situations and moments where the CGI was too much. The soundtrack is signed by James Newton Howard and fulfills its role well.