Back in 2012, a surprise hit landed in theaters in the form of Snow White and the Huntsman. It told the “untold” tale of how the iconic fairy tale character came to be and why that evil witch was so obsessed with destroying her. Then, scandal hit and gossip sites were abuzz about how Snow White herself, actress Kristen Stewart, had had an affair with the married film’s director, Rupert Sanders.
What’s a studio to do? You have a hit. In today’s world… that calls for a sequel. How about this for an idea? Ditch the director. Ditch the star and go even further back and do a prequel to the prequel! Now, we have The Huntsman: Winter’s War, a story that focuses on Chris Hemsworth (who also dazzles us as Thor) and his title character and how he came to take on that noble profession and of course a dramatic entanglement that is the tall tale of two sisters following two very different paths. Both are not-so-good, one is the snow queen (Emily Blunt) and the other will become the Evil Queen that will torment Snow White. Added to the mix is another fighter like the Huntsman, Sara, played brilliantly (as usual) by Jessica Chastain.
Cedric Nicolas-Troyan steps into the director’s position and does a pretty decent job telling a story that no one really was asking for. See, that’s kind of the problem with The Huntsman: Winter’s War. It’s a decent enough movie, but not necessarily one that you need to see more than once. That’s why it might be a tough sell on DVD and Blu-Ray, as it has debuted currently, other than for rentals. But, if you do rent and don’t buy, make sure that your rental comes with the bonus features, because those are quite compelling and take us behind the scenes of making an epic tale that by all accounts could have been one of the more thankless jobs in Hollywood.
One aspect of the story is how the Huntsmen came to be. Their history is explained efficiently and entertainingly throughout the film. What isn’t so clear is the sibling rivalry between Theron and Blunt’s characters. The thing is… since they are both on the evil side of the landscape; it’s hard to pull for them. One ends up pulling for the warriors of the title, but that only gets you so far in terms of story scope. The other aspect that is distracting is we hear about Snow White repeatedly and yet we never see or meet her. It’s kind of a tease that has absolutely no payoff. Especially since Stewart’s Snow White was so badass and it would have been nice to see where she took the character in a sequel. Sadly, fate had other ideas and The Huntsman: Winter’s War is what we get.
One group that has an expanded role in the sequel is the dwarfs. They are the focus of the first bonus feature we have to salute, Meet the Dwarfs. There is a humor that they bring to the film (that is much needed) and Nick Frost’s Nion is not the only one who brings the laughs (and action). This featurette explores the need for the four dwarf characters in the second Huntsman movie and how they filmed their sequences, as well as why filmmakers felt they were integral to the story and the movie itself.
This sister duel and the chemistry between Huntsmen Hemsworth and Chastain are the focus of Two Queens and Two Warriors. It is rare that an action movie has 75-percent of its characters be women. It’s refreshing, honestly, and this bonus featurette takes us to the heart of that casting and how each performer formed their character, build themselves up for the part (both emotionally and physically) and how filmmakers convinced Theron to return to the part she was born to play.
Magic All Around focuses on how the magic of the film was achieved, specifically through its dazzling special effects. What else is fascinating is the featurette (Dressed to Kill) that shines the spotlight on one of our favorite movie artists, costume designer Colleen Atwood. She is always a delight to talk to and the Oscar winner has quite the knack for putting the stellar work she does in layman’s terms for a priceless insight into her magic.
Movie Grade: C
Bonus Features: B