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\'The Huntsman: Winter\'s War,\' sequel to the 2012 \'Snow White and the Huntsman,\' is a covert homage to the 1970s/1980s free-wheeling, fantasy adventure tales like \'Conan,\' \'Red Sonja,\' and \'Beastmaster.\' However, in the post-Marvel film universe, I now have higher expectations for fantasy/sci-fi/comic flicks than just great CGI and kickass fighting, I also desire strong acting, cohesive narrative and well-defined characters. Unfortunately, \'The Huntsman\' provided only one out of those three.

\'The Huntsman,\' executive produced by Sarah Bradshaw and Palak Patel, directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan and written by Evan Spiliotopoulos and Craig Mazin, introduces a new branch to the \'Snow White\' mythos. Upon discovering a new evil encroaching upon Snow White\'s lands, the Huntsman teams with a couple dwarves and his former wife to take down his former boss, Queen Freya.

If you\'re going to see a fantasy film, no one expects Dickensian-level writing. But, you WILL expect a healthy dose of fun, irreverence, kickbutt action and great CGI. \'Winter\'s War\' definitely provides that. Acting-wise, Charlize Theron and Emily Blunt gave it their all through Charlize\'s "serial killer" queen and Emily\'s timid girl turned maternal psychopath. The fun came through the various visual allusions to other fantasy predecessors including a Lothlorien-styled glen populated with Gollumn-ish goblins a la \'Lord of the Rings,\' a bog of eternal stench a la \'Labyrinth,\' a large gold dish surrounded by a large horned demon a la \'Legend,\' humanoid animals a la the \'Jungle Book,\' traveling dwarves for comedic effect a la the Brownies in \'Willow,\' and a winterized sabretooth/polar bear steed amidst petrified winterized statues a la \'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.\' I think you can make your own \'Frozen\' analogies. Plus, the first ten minutes promised an excellent film. Even the CGI, save the mirror\'s liquid effect, proved exquisite.

Despite the strong acting, fighting and fun, the film felt aimless, plotless, and directionless. Despite the excellent production values, visuals and costumes, the film did not distinguish itself visually. Despite two excellent female lead actresses, the lack of depth for the supporting characters provided a surface film.

The camera pan was almost TOO smooth. The film needed a more experimental cinematography in places to give it more grit. Plus, the clunky CGI surrounding the physical embodiment of the mirror\'s spirit appeared dated. Finally, the editors could\'ve decreased the action film speed a smidge. I know I\'m old when the action moved so quickly I could not discern the movements within the fight scenes. It looked good, but I really couldn\'t tell. Next, outside of Freya and the Evil Queen, most of the characters lacked motivation. All of the sub-characters from the Hunstman\'s ex to his companions lacked reasons for existing. WHY did the Huntsman track the evil queen\'s mirror? What were his personal motivations, other than, um, the Prince asked? 

Although people hailed Chris Hemsworth\'s character as the best item in \'Snow White,\' he is not here. He grins and smirks in unlikely places. After bedding his love interest, he irrationally snaps and asks her to pull a Romeo and Juliet on him if she cheated.The narrative of the adult, human characters proved so ridiculous and inane that I felt sorry for poor Jessica Chastain for agreeing to co-star. Hinging the film upon a character lacking motivation made the film poorly constructed, especially when it ignored strong narrative threads. The film\'s comedic subplot where the Huntsman wanted solitude and clearly lost his edge could\'ve given the character pathos by giving us a Hunstsman tired of his duty and giving a pleasant face to whatever sovereign ruled him.

If the film focused purely on the Evil Queen-Ice Queen collaboration/fragmentation, we would\'ve had a film full of delicious tension. Unfortunately, the film did not hit its thesis until the final TEN minutes - 1.5 hours too late.

Did I see the previous film? No. So, I am judging \'Huntsman\' as a standalone, but if I needed to see the previous film to understand the current characters, then, this should not have served as its own film.

Admittedly, you aren\'t exactly watching the \'Winter\'s War\' fantasy sequel for strong writing, but both Marvel Studios and Sony showed us that comic films can entertain and intellectually challenge its audience equally. If you want mindless fun, then go see \'Winter\'s War.\' But, if you don\'t want to pay twelve dollars for visual cotton candy, save your funds. Instead, stay in and just stream the original 1970s adventure flicks on your laptop. You\'ll have a smarter time and feel less cheated. Despite \'Winter\'s War\' sumptuous CGI and beautiful Hemsworthy eye candy, the writing left me in the cold.

Related: Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, The Huntsman: Winter\'s War, Entertainment, Movies

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