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The Huntsman: Winter’s War: Mini-review

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Chris Hemsworth

Chris Hemsworth is a large part of the problem with The Huntsman: Winter’s War

C-Between the spring of 2012, when Snow White and the Huntsman became a modest theatrical hit, and this year’s arrival of its follow-up, The Huntsman: Winter’s War arrives, we have witnessed Frozen, Brave, and three Hobbit movies. All of these latter films were more successful, both critically and financially, than Snow White was, so it’s not surprising that the current film’s screenwriters have tried to shoehorn in as many plot elements as possible from the later movies. It’s also not surprising that the result is somewhat of a bloated mess.

The Huntsman: Winter’s War attempts to be both a prequel and sequel to Snow White. In the film’s first half hour, viewers learn that evil queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) has a younger, nicer sister Freya (Emily Blunt). But a family tragedy makes Freya as cruel as Ravenna and gives the her ability to freeze people and other objects. After Snow White defeats Ravenna, Freya tries to get the power of Ravenna’s magic mirror for herself, and only Eric, the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), formerly one of Ravenna’s warriors, and another former warrior, Sara (Jessica Chastain), stand in her way.

Any movie fan seeing the current Huntsman will realize in a minute that Ravenna and Freya are far more sinister versions of Anna and Elsa in Frozen, red-headed Sara is a live action Merida from Brave, and that Eric’s quest for the mirror, accompanied by a band of dwarves, is a variant on the treasure hunt in the Hobbit films. Unfortunately, The Huntsman: Winter’s War is entirely bereft of any of the wit or magic of those other films. Instead, Huntsman relies on its title character, as played by the rather leaden Hemsworth, and struggles to fit all its disparate plot elements in a two-hour movie. At least, Theron has fun as an over-the-top villain (who is too seldom on screen), and she and Blunt look great in a variety of dazzling costumes. The movie’s visual effects are good, especially in the final action sequence, but the overall pace of the film is too slow and the mood too gloomy. Freya’s ice kingdom is the perfect setting for The Huntsman: Winter’s War; the movie is as frozen as the setting.
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Mad Max Fury Road: Mini-Review

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Charlize Theron

This ultra-glamorous Charlize Theron does not appear in Mad Max Fury Road

A-Let’s cut to the chase here. Mad Max: Fury Road is the best action film in years, one that is destined to show up on all-time lists of such movies. Further, with this film on top of his original Mad Max trilogy, director George Miller cements his reputation as one of the best action directors of all time. Still further, Charlize Theron‘s Imperator Furiosa is second only to Sigourney Weaver‘s Ripley from the Alien movies as the best action heroine of all time.

Given more than 30 years since the original Mad Max trilogy to fine tune his vision of a post-apocalyptic dystopian future, Miller has created a barren desert world in Fury Road in which water, not oil, is the key to power. Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Bourne) controls a vast amount of water at a rocky outcrop called the Citadel and has become a demigod to his followers, most notably a host of hopped up War Boys, including Nux (Nicholas Hoult). Furiosa kidnaps Joe’s prized “possession,” his breeder women, and absconds with them in a heavily armored tanker truck. She soon teams up with Max (Tom Hardy), who has himself escaped from Joe’s clutches, to try to stay one step ahead of Joe’s pursuing armada.

Fury Road has a deceptively simple plot, with the bulk of the movie consisting of several intricately designed and incredibly exciting set pieces. The 30-minute finale is a worthy successor to the climactic set piece in Miller’s earlier The Road Warrior. This time around, however, Miller has the benefit of a vastly increased budget and much improved technology. Miller uses that technology sparingly, however, preferring actual stunt work over CGI and traditional cinematography and deliberate editing that lets viewers understand exactly what’s happening. The production design is also amazingly creative, with vehicles seemingly cobbled together from spare parts that prove to be remarkably versatile in the nonstop combat in which they are engaged. Miller isn’t known for character development, but the main characters here are surprisingly well drawn in one or two scenes. Tom Hardy’s Mad Max has few lines but Miller establishes the character’s emotional baggage through brief flashback moments. Charlize Theron displays her emotions more openly and movingly at times; the movie is really about her quest for redemption. Fury Road winds up being neither a true remake of nor a sequel to any of the original Mad Max movies. Instead, it is an expansion of George Miller’s vision and the art of action film making to a truly exceptional level.
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