Review of The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016) by Mrmoviebuff — 21 Apr 2016

'The Huntsman: Winter's War' is a sequel...or a prequel...or a spin-off to 'Snow White and the Huntsman' (2012), a film that was generally seen as "Okay" by a lot of movie-goers, and somehow, the studio thought it was popular enough to get a sequel...or a prequel...or a spin-off. I honestly do not know what kind of a continuation this is supposed to be...

Charlize Theron is back as the evil Queen Ravenna, and as always, she looks stunning, her presence can sometimes up-stage her acting. We find out she has a younger sister named Freya (Emily Blunt) who, after something tragic happens to her, she becomes "The Ice Queen", and runs away in exile in order for her to cast icy spells. No, I am not explaining the plot of 'Frozen' (2013), although, it does seem like that's what this movie is trying to be. Clearly, the studio wants what Disney had with that success.

Chris Hemsworth returns as the Huntsman, and we can see from a young age, that Freya has taken a number of children and has ordered for them to work for her. He is infatuated with a woman named Sara (Jessica Chastain), who is a warrior, but little do they know that Freya, who was completely devoid of happiness in her life, has forbade love in her territory...

What is shocking (or, maybe not so shocking) about this movie was how lifeless it is, it's almost as if David Yates (director of the last four "Harry Potter" films) teamed with producer Peter Jackson (of "The Lord of the Rings") to do a live-action remake of Disney's 'Frozen' (2013), and not only did they make it darker and not include any of the musical numbers, but just took away all the fun and energy that the animated film had.

Emily Blunt, a talented actress (and if you don't believe me, watch her in 'Sicario' and tell me otherwise), is very stiff in her role of Freya, there is no dimension to her character, she is just supposed to have an evil presence. It is clear that the writers (Evan Spiliotopoulos and Craig Mazin) must have seen Disney's 2013 animated hit, and decided to use that as a template, for making the Ice Queen character sympathetic, but unlike the character Elsa, Freya lacks likeability and range. There is almost no emotional investment whatsoever.

The special effects in this film look terrific, but that is never enough to save a film's bland personality. There is also no Kristen Stewart, you'd think replacing her with Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain would make it better, but it did the complete opposite of that.

I could go on about how this film sucked the joy out of everything, but I would go on for five more paragraphs. This isn't the worst movie of 2016, just a forgettable one, if you want my advice, just go and watch 'Frozen' (2013) again, it's a better movie anyway than this bland wreck of a picture.