Snow White and the Huntsman

Fairytale adaptations are, it seems, like buses. You wait for an age for one and then two come along at once. At the start of April, a comedic take on the story of Snow White hit screens with Mirror Mirror, starring Julia Roberts and Lily Collins and now an altogether darker version has been released in the form of Snow White and the Huntsman. Kristen Stewart takes on the role as Snow White and Twihards (as the fans of Twilight are known) will no doubt flock to see the film. But the question is this: should anyone else bother?

Snow White and the Huntsman follows the well-known Grimm tale of the beautiful girl who must fight against the evil Queen who wishes her dead so she may instead be proclaimed the fairest of them all. In a twist to the fairytale, the Queen sends the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) in search of the girl but he soon becomes her protector and friend in the fight against evil. Visually, the film is rather stunning and has a distinctively-rich production design. Marketed as a young adult adventure (with a 12A certificate), the film is quite dark and rather solemn and, in my view, all the better for it. The aesthetic depth was crafted at just the right level and some impressive effects helped to create a magical and gritty medieval world. The battle sequences were well-constructed and were engaging and exciting in equal measure and complemented the overall tone of the film.

Charlize Theron's performance as the evil Queen Ravenna is very assured and highly convincing as she paces up and down, shouting at everyone in the manner of a deranged supply teacher (although ten times as scary). I was rather surprised at just how far the horror elements in the film went (given its certificate) and Ravenna's transformation from beautiful Queen to old woman and back again was quite startling. With about as many facial expressions as a murder victim with an extreme case of rigor mortis, Kristen Stewart may seem an odd choice to play Snow White but actually, she does so rather well. Once I got over her accent which seemed to have been learnt from the Keira Knightley School of Vocal Coaching, she became quite likeable as the defeater of evil and even slipped into a Joan of Arc role at the end of the film, storming a castle to defeat Ravenna. Her chemistry with Hemsworth wouldn't have passed a GCSE science exam but little did that matter; the film is a fairytale with an edge, and is not meant to be a hugely-believable story of love and friendship.

What prevented this film, however, from being a really exciting re-invention of the Snow White story is the script. The dialogue felt rather stilted and flat and I couldn't help but sit there and see it as a missed opportunity. Played by some acting giants (excuse the pun) such as Bob Hoskins, Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan, Ray Winston and Nick Frost, the potential for humour with the seven dwarves was huge but was disappointingly missed. The result was a script which took away from the visual spectacle and left me with the feeling that the film had somewhat missed the target. It's a shame because most of the other elements were done well.

Aside from these script issues, the balance between action and exposition was competently struck by director Rupert Sanders and, if a bit too long at 127 minutes, the film maintained a momentum throughout. Snow White and the Huntsman is perfectly fine for what it is: a visually-commanding and interesting take on a fairytale. It's not fantastic by any stretch of the imagination and it is held back by a weak screenplay. It still manages, however, to remain perfectly agreeable popcorn entertainment. And remember kids, don't eat that apple...

Clapperboard Rating: * * *