If you felt left out because, three years ago, you didn't want to build a snowman and the cold didn't bother you anyway, then fear not - an adults only version of ‘Frozen’ has arrived and it’s called ‘The Huntsman: Winters War’. This is half prequel, half sequel to 2012’s ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ - you know, that movie where the married director and his not-so-single leading lady’s behind the scenes activities marred the otherwise decent film? Eh, whatever. Four years on and the powers that be have ditched those troublemakers, isolated the best parts - or should I say persons - of the film and given them their own.
‘The Huntsman’ starts with the tale of two powerful sisters who unlock their powers and take kingdoms of their own. Freya (Emily Blunt) becomes the ice queen of the south. With a frozen heart free of love, she turns the kingdom’s children into her Huntsman army, her best warriors being Eric (Chris Hemsworth) and Sara (Jessica Chastain). After learning of Eric and Sara’s affair, a betrayal in her mind, Freya does the unthinkable and the couple are separated. Eric, as we then know, moves north to help Snow White defeat Ravenna (Charlize Theron, the events of ‘Snow White and The Huntsman’). Seven years on, driven close to madness, the now Queen Snow White orders Ravenna’s evil mirror from the kingdom, but it is stolen and Eric is tasked with recovering it before it falls into the wrong hands. With the help of some wisecracking dwarves, Eric and his crew venture into enchanted forests to fight formidable beasts and great evil in the name of freedom and love.
SWITCH: 'THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER'S WAR' TRAILER B
Left in the hands of first-time feature director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, we’re definitely left with more laughs and more action. The laughs come courtesy of four dwarves played by comedy favourites Nick Frost and Rob Brydon with the help of Sheridan Smith, Alexandra Roach and the devilishly charming Hemsworth. But the action scenes between magically-inclined beings and kick-ass humans wielding axes are shot too close and edited to within an inch of their lives so you can’t really tell what’s going on and the "cool factor" is sadly lost.
This is the follow-up that no one really asked for.
This is the follow-up that no one really asked for, its predecessor hardly setting the box-office on fire, yet here we are. The film is outshone but its fantastic costumes and mesmerising visual effects, however its two leads and the divine Miss Blunt and Theron are distracting enough from the film’s shortcomings. Certainly entertaining and enjoyable enough but not mind-blowing, ‘The Huntsman’ is once again a decent attempt but please, there’s no need for a third.