Review - The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016)

           Hey guys, Chuck here, and in 2016, Universal released a follow-up to the successful 2012 film Snow White and the Huntsman with The Huntsman: Winter's War. Directed this time by Cedric Nicholas-Troyan, this movie sees the returns of Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Sam Claflin, and Nick Frost, and sees new additions like Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain, Rob Brydon, Sheridan Smith, Alexandra Roach, Sope Dirisu, and Sophie Cookson.

       So, the movie serves as both prequel and sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman, in that we learn the backstory of a number of characters from the original movie. You see, in addition to her brother Finn, Evil Queen Ravenna also had a younger sister, Freya, who had fallen in love with a man and given birth to a daughter, who was killed by the child's father. This act turned Freya's heart into ice, and awakened her fearsome ice magic. Taking the moniker of the Ice Queen, Freya made a new home for herself in a frigid palace of ice in the North, and collected children from the local villages. For if Freya couldn't raise a daughter, she would instead raise an army of Huntsmen. This would include Eric, the Huntsman from the first movie, and Sara, a warrior with whom Eric falls in love, in spite of Freya's sole rule against falling in love. Eric and Sara wed in secret, but Freya finds out and forces them apart, with Eric believing that Sara is dead. 

       Years pass, and we reach the point of where the movie is a sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman. Eric is pretty much back to his old life. He is, one day, approached by William, who is married to Snow White and is the new King, for help. You see, Snow White had taken ill because of the evil magic within Ravenna's Magic Mirror, which was beckoning to Snow White, who ordered it taken to the Sanctuary. However, the convoy was attacked, and the Mirror is gone. So, Eric goes to locate the Mirror, with help from his dwarf ally Nion, along with Nion's half-brother Griff. 

       And, of course, it's not long before Freya becomes aware of the Mirror, and she dispatches her best warrior to get it. That warrior, it turns out, is Sara, who was manipulated by Freya into seeing Eric run away in cowardice, whereas he saw her die. But, the two are reunited and work together to go after the Mirror. Also, two dwarf sisters, Doreena and Bromwyn, join the party in searching for the Mirror. 

        But, as the party goes after the Mirror, Freya has her spy, and icy owl, follow them, and she is able to collect the Mirror for her own use. The Spirit of the Mirror takes the form of Ravenna, and she attempts to supercede Freya's throne. And, it's at this point where we learn the truth: Ravenna, having consulted the Spirit of the Mirror, learned that Freya's daughter would grow to become more beautiful than Ravenna, so she manipulates Freya's lover, Andrew, to kill the infant. Infuriated, Freya attempts to destroy what remains of Ravenna, but to no avail. Upon telling him what he needs to do, Eric destroys the Mirror, and Ravenna's evil is ended for good. Eric and Sara go on to live happy lives, and the army raised by Freya is set free. 

         So, something worth noting is that, while Snow White and the Huntsman was clearly based on the Grimm's fairy tale of Snow White, The Huntsman:  Winter's War took its inspiration from Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen, most likely due to the cinematic success of Disney's Frozen, as Freya was pretty much modeled after Elsa. Similarly, Sara took her cues from Merida, the main protagonist of Pixar's Brave. So, it looks like Universal saw Disney's success, and decided to follow suit with this movie. Is that a bad thing? No, but it is something to point out. 

        That's not to say the performances were bad. Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt, and Jessica Chastain were all really good, especially Blunt and Chastain. Most of the supporting cast, including the likes of Sam Claflin, Nick Frost, and Sophie Cookson were also entertaining. If anything, the performances by the cast were easily the one good thing about the movie.

        Ultimately, it's the story and directing that really drag the movie down for me. Not to say that Cedric Nicholas-Troyan was a terrible director, but it's clear to me that he lacks the storytelling eye that Rupert Sanders had while making Snow White and the Huntsman. With the first movie, Sanders had a clear story to tell, with a protagonist that was enjoyable to follow with Kristen Stewart as Snow White. With this movie, Nicholas-Troyan tried to combine too much in one movie, and the saving grace of the movie was the performances by the actors, with Chris Hemsworth as an enjoyable lead actor. 

        All in all, this was an entertaining, but still disappointing, follow-up to an otherwise really good movie. I'm giving The Huntsman Winter's: War a rating of 3.65/5. Anyway guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time.