MOVIE REVIEW - Snow White And The Huntsman

Sometimes you see a movie coming out and you think one of two things. That is either going to be a really cool idea, or be one f the worst ideas ever. Luckily for us, this was a good idea.

This is a different interpretation of the Snow White story, and it is very different than what you've seen before, or even would have thought of. The Evil Queen (Charlize Theron) has spent generations taking over kingdoms using her beauty, and uses her powers of witchcraft to keep her beauty and power. After taking over the kingdom of Snow Whites father, she banishes Snow (Kristen Stewart) to the north tower forever to remain queen. As Snow is he only threat to her rule, and as it would turn out, Snow also holds the key for the queen's eternal youth for which she is so obsessed.

Snow escapes after many years and heads out to find freedom and the help to challenge the queen, and take her spot on the thrown. The Evil Queen then sends out a Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) to bring her back from the Black Forest by making him a deal that she will not honor. After finding Snow, he decides he is on the side of the angels and helps her, and of course the 7 Dwarfs that they have encountered. Tons of side plots too, but that in a nutshell this SW&TH.

There is a ton of good here. A fine performance by Theron as the Evil Queen. Although, you may grow weary of her yelling all the time as I did, but you'll get through it. Theron always seems to find good roles, and never plays the same character twice. I totally respect that. She chooses wisely. Hemsworth is fine, and does a lot with a little. But I have to give kudos mostly to Stewart, and I never thought I would say that. The usually immensely average Stewart is well cast here, and gives the best performance of her career by far. And the best part is, you never see Bella from Twilight. You see a different actress, and that's a huge hurdle cleared for her. She is asked to do a few things, and does them all well. None of it great. But all solid.

There are also some fascinating special effects in this movie. How about the dwarfs all being played by non-dwarfs? That was incredible. There is a good ix of action and drama, and the weaving between the two is well done. This is not a fatiguing movie, and that's anohter hurdle conquered too. But one of the great things here, was that this movie doesn't fall in love with effects, but uses them effectively and keeps its focus on story and actors. The supporting cast is wonderful, with Ian MacShane, and Roy Winstone leading the way.

Also, the musical soundtrack is nothing short of soaring, beautiful and used to perfection. Special mention to James Newton Howard, who is Hollywood's best music man, and has been at the controls of some of the finest movie soundtracks for 20 years. Colleen Atwood's amazing costumes too are to be mentioned. In short, these are the two best at what they do, and they really do it right here.

This movie does not make the huge mistake of dragging out the obvious. This checks in at exactly two hours, and that's sufficient here, and a far better decision than the usual 2:30 or more some of these fantasy/action flicks prefer. I do not, many wear out their welcome.

Snow White And The Huntsman. One of the real nice surprises of the year so far.