The Huntsman: Winter's War
(2016)Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth return for this action fantasy follow-up to Snow White and the Huntsman, co-starring Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain.... More
Long before the evil Queen Ravenna (Theron) was vanquished by Snow White’s blade, she watched silently as her sister, Freya (Blunt), suffered a heartbreaking betrayal and fled their kingdom. With Freya’s ability to freeze any enemy, the young ice queen has spent decades in a remote wintry palace raising a legion of deadly huntsmen - including Eric (Hemsworth) and warrior Sara (Chastain) - only to find that her prized two defied her one demand: Forever harden your hearts to love.
When Freya learns of her sister’s demise, she summons her remaining soldiers to bring the Magic Mirror home to the only sorceress left who can harness its power...
Kristen Stewart, who played Snow White in the first film, is not on the cast list. We'll let you decide whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.Hide
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Directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan (feature debut)
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Jessica Chastain, Emily Blunt, Sam Claflin
Written by Evan Spiliotopoulos, Craig Mazin (based on the characters created by Evan Daugherty)
On Demand, DVD & Blu-Ray
Available from 8 providers
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The Huntsman: Winter's War
BY thorinoak superstar
Entertaining but nothing really that special here with a paint by numbers plot that is missing the grittiness and the originality of its predecessor. Which is saying a lot.
BY Booper superstar
I was surprised by this film. Having read some pretty shocking reviews I was not expecting much. Sure there is nothing overly thought provoking about The Huntsman - it does what I think a movie should do which is entertain and provide a short term escape to another world.
The cast is great with Emily Blunt and Chris Hemsworth as the standouts. The pacing is good it is short and sweet which more movies need to be.
BY JuliaLee lister
I really enjoyed this, definitely worth watching on the big screen! Loved the story line and the characters. The special effects and the costume design were very well done. The Dwarf characters were very funny! There could have been a bit more depth to the story line but overall it was very entertaining and one that I think a lot of people will enjoy. Great performances by Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron and Emily Blunt.
Showing 3 of 3 reviews. See all reviews
The Press Reviews
35%
of critics recommend.
Rotten Tomatoes Score. More reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
A nuclear war of dullness. Full Review
The sheer abundance of on-screen ornamentation isn’t quite enough to make The Huntsman: Winter’s War a beautiful film.. Full Review
Not the fairest sequel, but it’s not so terrible that it deserves to be taken out to the forest and finished off. Full Review
Visual inventiveness and spectacular casting can’t quite salvage a muddled fantasy epic... Full Review
All that axe-flinging, ice-casting action makes a modest impact. Full Review
It’s passably entertaining, and like the last one breathtakingly crafted... Full Review
It's a prequel, it's a sequel, and it's in no way equal to the movie that came before. Full Review
The script is a dog's breakfast, as is the editing and the over-all plot, which seems to change inexplicably throughout - but the cast is skilled enough to keep you interested. Full Review
BY Tony Stamp Flicks Writer
Was anyone crying out for a sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman? Only one half of that duo returns for this instalment, although Snow White is constantly mentioned, somewhat awkwardly.... More
A series of prologues (narrated by Liam Neeson in what must have been for him a lucrative ten minutes or so), introduces Emily Blunt, playing a character copied wholesale from a certain Disney mega-hit. Neeson even lingers on the word ‘frozen’, the aural equivalent of winking at the camera.
It’s the first example of many ideas pilfered from other, better films. There’s a pinch of PJ’s Rings odyssey, a sprinkling of Planet of the Apes, and so on, but it’s all window dressing on a story where not much actually happens, other than some characters travelling from A to B.
Thankfully the dour tone of the prologues eventually gives way to something more cheerful, as Chris Hemsworth starts to crack his famous smile and Nick Frost and Rob Brydon crack jokes. Charlize Theron returns to gleefully chow down on any nearby scenery, and Jessica Chastain and Blunt elevate proceedings simply by being on screen. But it’s a bummer seeing such talented actors faffing around with material this wispy.
The Huntsman: Winter’s War features several handsomely-composed shots, the odd vista, and displays of magic that unfurl like particularly nifty screensavers. But all that visual splendour can’t compensate for the lack of a compelling story, leaving a movie that is, as suspected, spectacularly unnecessary.Hide
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