The Huntsman: Winter’s War Review
By Adam Yuster
In general, critics are expected to preserve a neutral stance towards the films they see until the credits roll. That’s not what happened with The Huntsman: Winter’s War. On my way to see Winter’s War, I was bracing myself for the worst. The way I saw it, this movie had everything going against it. For one, it’s a spin-off/prequel/sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman, an adaptation/reboot of the classic Snow White story. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I should have to type so many slashes into one sentence. Sequels and adaptations are fine alone, but when you mash them together—along with a bunch of other elements—you run the risk of making a movie so diluted and unoriginal it can’t possibly stand on its own. Secondly, although I’ve never seen Snow White and the Huntsman, its less-than-glowing reviews labelled it dour, overlong, and too self-serious for its own good. I thought I could reasonably expect more of the same with Winter’s War. Finally, and possibly most importantly, I knew that Snow White herself (played by Kristen Stewart in Snow White and the Huntsman) had not signed on to make an appearance in Winter’s War, and the role of Snow White was to be written out. This baffled me. They’re writing Snow White out of a movie that’s a sort-of sequel to a movie about Snow White? This seemed like a recipe for disaster. How are you supposed to make a successful sequel to a movie starring a beloved fairy tale character without even so much as a cameo from that character?
With that question in mind, I took my seat in the theatre and hoped the director, Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, would provide an adequate answer. The lights went down, and I was whisked off to the fantastical world of the film. Winter’s War begins years before its predecessor, in the palace of Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) and her sister Freya (Emily Blunt). Of the two, the sorceress Ravenna is the cold, calculated one, and Freya is the lovelorn romantic. But after a horrible family tragedy, Freya becomes hardened. She declares war on love and everyone consumed by it. Assisted by her magic ice powers (á la Elsa in Frozen), Freya crafts a kingdom for herself in the North and raises an army of soldiers she dubs Huntsmen to help her rule with an iron fist. When two of these Huntsmen, Sara (Jessica Chastain) and Eric (Chris Hemsworth), break Freya’s golden rule by falling in love, the vengeful Freya turns them against each other and bans them from the kingdom.
Flash forward to a time shortly after the events of Snow White and the Huntsman. In the intervening period, Eric has helped Snow White restore peace in the South by defeating the evil Ravenna and allowing Snow to claim the crown. But as is often the case, this peace doesn’t last. Eric soon learns that Freya is searching for the infamous Magic Mirror that was once owned by her sister. Freya plans to use its dark magic to help her conquer the South. In order to stop her, Eric bands together with four dwarves (including returning character Nion, played by the ever-charmingly obnoxious Nick Frost) and his long-lost love Sara to go on a treacherous journey to retrieve the Mirror.
By the time the credits rolled, I was thoroughly surprised. Against all odds, I liked Winter’s War. Its swashbuckling action, sprawling fantasy, steamy romance, and fair amount of humor appealed to the wannabe adventurer in me. Oh, and Troyan most definitely did answer my question. How do you make a Snow White and the Huntsman spin-off without Snow White? By shirking off its predecessor’s mythology and essentially starting from scratch, that’s how. Even though I’ve never seen the original, I don’t feel like I missed out on anything in Winter’s War. I don’t even think one has to be familiar with the Snow White Grimm fairy tale to enjoy Winter’s War. It really feels like its own entry in the fantasy genre as opposed to the sequel/prequel/reboot/adaptation/spin-off that it is. I’d even argue the lack of Stewart’s presence was a blessing in disguise. Her absence opened up more possibilities for the writers, Craig Mazin and Evan Spiliotopul, to explore Snow White and the Huntsman’s world without feeling the need to stay tied to pay lip service to that movie or the tale that bore it.
I also think Troyan, Mazin, and Spiliotopul nailed the tone this time around. A far cry from the supposed dour self-seriousness of Snow White and the Huntsman, Winter’s War is just a lot of fun. The best thing I can say about it is that it’s reminiscent of The Princess Bride. Like the latter, Winter’s War is a testament to the power of love. In this case that love is between Eric and Sara, and although their romance its admittedly a bit sappy, it’s hard not to be won over by its feel-good earnestness. Also like The Princess Bride, Winter’s War has a fair amount of biting humor, although the humor never comes close to reaching the heights of those in the 1987 classic. The dwarves serve as the source of most of this comic relief, but Hemsworth also gets in on the action, and his smug delivery will have you believe Eric, not Thor, was the role he was born to play. Overall, Winter’s War’s lighthearted take on the fantasy genre is refreshing in this modern era as a stark contrast to Game of Thrones and similar fare.
Though an enjoyable romp, Winter’s War is most certainly not without flaws. The dwarves constitute one of these. While the dwarves’ quips and interactions start out fun and unexpected, eventually their banter overstays its welcome and hinders the pacing of the film. Another problem is the film’s derivativeness—not from Snow White and the Huntsman or other Snow White-related pieces per se, but from other fantasy movies. The major offender is, you guessed it, The Princess Bride. It would be fine if Winter’s War just stole The Princess Bride’s tone…but that’s not all Mazin and Spiliotopul stole. Winter’s War lifts a number of tropes directly from the 1987 blockbuster in a fashion that’s glaringly obvious to those who have seen both movies. The relationship dynamic between Sara and Eric, for example, is really just an inversion of the dynamic between Princess Buttercup and Westley, the stars of The Princess Bride. There’s even a scene in Winter’s War wherein a costumed Sara saves Eric from certain death. That’s basically a carbon copy of the famous scene in Bride where Westley comes to Buttercup’s aide after years of separation. If this was done in homage, it might be acceptable, but it feels like Mazin and Spiliotopul are sincerely trying to pass off the idea for this scene as their own.
All of these issues are minor compared to the one that towers above them all. Without giving too much away, there is an event that occurs mid-way through the movie that brings about the return of Ravenna. Ravenna hangs about in Freya’s palace and begins to boss Freya around. While the interaction between sisters Ravenna and Freya is interesting to a degree, Ravenna’s reintroduction takes the spotlight off of Freya. This is endlessly frustrating. Up until this point, Freya was the ultimate villain. She was powerful, she had a great backstory, and she had us simultaneously rooting for and against her. Once Ravenna reenters the scene, Freya deflates. She becomes subordinate to Ravenna—even though she’s supposed to be the main villain! It’s like the role of antagonist gets handed off from Freya to Ravenna, and in part because Ravenna has been absent for most of the movie, this just doesn’t work. Therefore, when the climactic showdown finally comes, it’s a total letdown. Most of the movie builds anticipation for a battle between Freya, Eric, and Sara, but for reasons only Mazin and Spiliotopul know, this battle never even comes to fruition. Instead, Eric and Sara fend off Freya’s henchman while the real battle occurs between Freya and Ravenna. I had no investment in this scene whatsoever, and it would’ve killed the movie for me if I hadn’t been won over by the movie’s other charms.
Don’t expect The Huntsman: Winter’s War to win any major awards. It’s not that kind of movie. It is, however, a rollicking good time, as well as a perfect movie for the magic-and-mischief-loving kids in all of us. Word to the wise: buy into Winter’s War’s zaniness, agree to overlook some of its inconsistencies, and leave your preconceptions at the door. I did, and the unthinkable happened: I ended up liking it.
Rating: 7/10
