“Huntsman: Winter’s War” grossed $20 million this opening weekend, earning less than half of what the first film of the franchise earned, according to Internet Movie Data Base.
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When Freya’s heart gets broken, she decides to leave home and moves far away to the north, creating what becomes her own icy kingdom. Two children grow up to be world-class fighters and to be Chris Hemsworth (this time he gets a name: Eric) and Jessica Chastain as Sara. 2012’s Snow White and the Huntsman grossed $1.3 million in previews on its way to a $56.2 million domestic debut. They fall for each other, but Freya can’t abide that.
Freya has had an affair with the Duke of Blackwood and has his child, a young beauty that the magic mirror tells Ravenna will surpass her in beauty.
That said, “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” is a bit of a convoluted mess with twists and turns coming fast and furious, but not always making sense. Charlize Theron is back as evil queen Ravenna, and her beauty and bitchery remain wonders to behold.
If you have watched the first film, you’ll find that there’s a continuity problem here. That’s how we ended up with a movie named after some unknown huntsman, instead of the universally known Snow White.
Serving as both a prequel and a sequel to Snow White, The Huntsman: Winter’s War follows the journey of, well, the Huntsman, while two rival queen sisters (Emily Blunt and Charlize Theron) duke it out in full Frozen fashion. After Freya literally drives a wall between them, Eric escapes, believing Sara to be dead. Since their love story packs no heat, comic relief comes in the form of two dwarfs, Nion (Nick Frost) and Gryff (Rob Brydon). Once you get past the digital shrinking of the actors, and the low-brow humor, they inject a much-needed levity, and Sheridan Smith nearly steals the whole show as the sassy Mrs. Bromwyn. Blunt brings some depth and complexity to her role and Theron’s over-the-top villainy plays better in small doses.
As befits the modern fairy tale, there isn’t so much a happily ever after as there is the promise of another sequel.
Visual supervisor turned director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan (who’s supposedly directing the upcoming Highlander remake) treats us to another adventure in the most recent world of Snow White, to some excitement and applause.
The four main leads here play characters that are not exactly engrossingly written. It’s also known as milking a Grimm Fairy Tale.
On the plus side, if you stick with it long enough, “Winter’s War” features some of the same impressive visual effects that distinguished the first film, and Smith provides a few welcome laughs at the expense of the other dwarfs.
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If you harbor a mad desire to see the film, you may want to let it go.
