Snow White and the Huntsman review

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Sam Claflin Director: Rupert Sanders Genre: Adventure/ Action Snow White and the Huntsman is the classic fairytale of Snow White with a few insignificant twists. If the trailer gave you an impression that Kristen Stewart has finally gotten rid of her 'Twilight' image to do different kind of cinema, you are mistaken. Kristen once again plays an archetypal damsel in distress who yet again manages to have two men by her side to help her survive. If the volturi, vampires and werewolves weren't enough in Twilight for Kristen, this time around she has an evil witch as a stepmother to fight with! If the vampires lusted for her 'human blood' in Twilight, the evil queen wants her 'innocent heart' in Snow White to become immortal. Its time Kristen Stewart gets rid of the 'most protected girl' tag in cinema and do something else! Snow White and the Huntsman is the classic fairytale of Snow White with a few insignificant twists. Evil queen and Snow White's stepmother (Charlize Theron) breathes the life out of young girls to stay young and fairest forever. She takes over the kingdom post the king's death and turns the kingdom into a goth house with her black magic. Her powers need to be restored unless she gets hold of Snow White's (Kristen Stewart) heart which can help her become immortal. Snow White runs for her life and travels far and wide to get away from the queen. Queen sends a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) to look out for Snow White who ends up becoming her protector instead. Can Princess Snow White free her kingdom from the clutches of the cruel queen and her dark powers? Filmmaker Rupert Sanders tries hard to give the fairytale a 'dark makeover' a la Tim Burton but doesn't quite achieve the desired result. The bond between the characters looks too shallow and fragile for you to feel for any of them or their dilemmas. You don't feel for Snow White, the sober dwarfs, brave huntsman or Snow White's friend William (Sam Claflin). As Snow White and her coterie travels far and away across snow clad mountains, serene villages battling for life, their journey only drags the film. There is no chemistry between the lead actors either! Hemsworth and Stewart look and act disinterested in each other. Charlize Theron is the only saving grace of the film. The actress is brilliant as the evil black magic woman. She scares the living daylights out of you with her impeccable portrayal of the vicious queen. Her makeup is brilliant. However lack of other good performances and strong characters make her look theatrical. Theron looks gorgeous too. As mentioned earlier, Stewart gets her Edward and Jacob in the form of the huntsman and William. The trio fails to grip you. The film has been shot beautifully but only intensifies when Theron makes an appearance. Without her, the film is uninspiring and cliched. A petite Stewart turning into a warrior to salvage her empire doesn't salvage the film. Hemsworth is wasted and so is Theron for the film is neither a beautiful fantasy nor the dark film that can give you nightmares. It hangs in between in mediocrity. From/timesofindia