The Huntsman: Winter's War Movie Review (Spoiler Free)

The sequel to the Snow White/Huntsman tale doesn’t really know what it wants to be and proves that a solid cast doesn’t automatically make a movie good.

Genre: Action / Drama / Fantasy

Director: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain, Sope Dirisu, Nick Frost, Rob Brydon, Sheridan Smith, Alexandra Roach, Sam Hazeldine & Charlize Theron.

Run Time: 114 min.

US Release: 22 April 2016

UK Release: 04 April 2016

German Release: 07 April 2016

The Huntsman: Winter’s War is the official sequel to the mediocre but box-office successful, dark fairy-tale Snow White & The Huntsman. While I wasn’t a particular fan of the first movie, I did think it was far superior to the very sappy and gooey Mirror Mirror. That said, I never hoped for a sequel, therefore didn’t walk into the screening room with high expectations. Walking out of the cinema, I couldn’t help but notice that I obtained exactly what I expected: a weak story with a good cast plus solid visual effects.

This sequel tells the story of Eric, the Huntsman (Hemsworth). It shortly establishes the fact that Ravenna (Theron) also has a sister named Freya (Blunt), who turned into the Ice Queen, enslaving the northern lands. There, she is building an army of Huntsmen, who are supposed to lay waste to Kingdoms and capture children to mould them into soldiers. But Eric and Sara (Chastain) fall in love, and thus the Ice Queen banishes Eric.

This is a mediocre movie with just a couple of solid segments; everything else in it is rather “meh”. I’ll begin with what I like about this fantasy flick: The dark tone used in the previous story is kept for the largest part, and I appreciated it because it stays true to the original fairy tales written by the Brothers Grimm. I also thought that the few action sequences are fun and nice to look at. Ravenna’s short backstory is intriguing, and it would have made for a more interesting movie if the writers had focused on a prequel about her character, rather than this messy pile of boredom.

My biggest issue with The Huntsman: Winter’s War is that there is no need for the sequel, as it doesn’t add anything of interest to the previous premise; it is incredibly dull. It includes a messy plot, since it does not know who it is targeting; thus, it tries to cover the whole spectrum, resulting in it being too dark for children, yet at the same time too sappy for adults. The comedy is awkward and does not really work, except when Nick Frost and Sheridan Smith are on screen, plus the romance Nicolas-Troyan tries to build is a disgrace! We even get a narrator who bluntly tries to explain the obvious. Then there is the issue of Snow White, who gets mentioned throughout the movie but is never shown.

I also had the feeling that the writers and directors were unsure of what story they wanted to tell; it begins as a prequel, telling the story of how Ravenna came to possess the mirror, then fast-forwards through the story of her sister, who, after getting her heart broken, moves to the north where she turns the lands into cold wastelands, building an army to conquer the northern kingdoms. It then conveniently jumps over the story of the first flick, continuing right after Snow White beats Ravenna, winning back her Kingdom. Last but not least, they should have scrapped Ravenna out of the third act, leaving Freya to be manipulated by the mirror.

Chris Hemsworth reprises his role as the Huntsman and is even given a backstory. While the man does have charisma, I would not consider him to be a great actor. I like him in the  Thor movies, but other than that, his performances are usually forgettable, and that’s the case with his character in this fairy tale, as he is struggling to create a convincing Scottish accent for his role. Eric is taken away from his family to serve the Ice Queen as one of her army’s huntsmen, yet when he falls in love with his female partner Sara, the Queen banishes him.

Jessica Chastain is a really talented actress, but she disappoints deeply in this fantasy film! Her portrayal of Sara is wooden and cold, which leads to a lack of chemistry between her and co-star Hemsworth. Chastain had even bigger problems adopting a Scottish accent, sounding ridiculous and simply unbelievable. I am curious as to why she was given the role when it is obvious that the character envisioned by the writers needs no talent to be portrayed on film.

Emily Blunt played Freya / The Ice Queen, giving one of the better performances in this weak fairy tale. She sold the fact that her soul was turned to ice by the sorrow of her loss and her subsequently broken heart. Sadly, those events are skipped over so fast that not even Blunt’s performance is able to make up for the lack of character development. Thus, the audience is left indifferent to what happened to Freya, which is what ultimately turned her into the cold-hearted Ice Queen.

Nick Frost, Rob Brydon & Sheridan Smith are my favourite characters. Unfortunately, their characters are mere sidekicks of the big, dull hero, with Frost only appearing in the second act. Still, it is they that make this movie, at least, a little bit fun and bearable, with Frost and Roach having better chemistry and a more believable romantic arc than our main characters.

As far as effects go, the movie has some pretty solid ones, with good-looking CGI tricks and creature designs, such as the golden-laced goblins, the Ice Queen’s powers and of course, the mirror’s beautiful effect when you call upon it. Frost, Brydon, Smith, as well as Roach’s makeup, which turned the quartet into dwarves, is great, while the overall costume design looks fantastic. Nevertheless, there are also effects I didn’t find really convincing, such as Ravenna’s black “tar” powers, once she is released from the mirror. 

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Verdict: This fairy tale is more than stale; the plot is weak, having nothing new to offer, the performances are mediocre, and the title is completely misleading since nothing in this movie suggests that there is a waging winter war. Director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan has focused on producing a nice-looking flick without substance, rather than a quality feature with a good story and character depth. Fans of the previous Snow White/Huntsman tale will probably enjoy this premise, although it does ignore some of the facts established in the first instalment. Other than that, I can not really recommend you wasting your money by going to see this pointless sequel in cinemas. I will give The Huntsman: Winter’s War a 5.5 out of 10.

If you did decide to go see this movie, let me know what you thought of it by leaving a comment below. Thank you for reading my review & if you found it helpful, make sure to like it.