The Huntsman: Winter’s War great costumes, lackluster concept

CEBU, Philippines - “The Huntsman: Winter’s War,” producer Joe Roth’s follow-up to 2012’s “Snow White and the Huntsman,” is a slicker, more accessible, possibly more commercial film than its predecessor. And yet there’s something ineffably dispiriting about it.

Derided before anyone saw a still as the sequel-prequel-whatever that nobody wanted, it’s passably entertaining, and like the last one breathtakingly crafted, especially the microscopically detailed costumes. But it still carries the sulfuric whiff of a changeling creature, a serviceable vehicle bolted together from remnants, if you can say that of an expensive package that includes Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain in its cast.

Although literally brighter and more sunlit than Snow White, the absence of key talents casts shadows over its surface. Obviously, the most palpable absence is that of Kristen Stewart’s Snow White, gone probably not because of her much-hyped extramarital affair with Rupert Sanders but because the actor would have been perhaps too expensive for this installment, according to some sources. It’s not hard to figure out how Universal and Roth did the math to work out they didn’t need Stewart, especially now that Hemsworth, barely a blip on the tracking data in 2012, is such a huge deal on the back of his work in the Marvel universe.

Whichever way you add it up, it’s not just a significant loss, but an ironic one: Isn’t part of the appeal of fairy tale re-jigs like “Snow White and the Huntsman,” “Maleficent,” “Into the Woods” and the TV series “Once Upon a Time” is that they offer a feminist or at least female-centric twist on traditional (and often traditionally misogynistic) material?

So in 2016, after all the debates about disparate pay, the paucity of female filmmakers and female lead characters in mainstream filmmaking, isn’t it kind of depressing that one of the few big-budget franchises of the last five years to feature a woman protagonist was literally written out of her own eponymous story in order to make some guy the star of the show? It’s as if they decided to get rid of Katniss after the first “The Hunger Games” movie in order to focus on Liam Hemsworth’s Gale instead because Jennifer Lawrence was too expensive.

It turns out that Ravenna, the evil queen played by Theron in “Snow White,” had a sister named Freya (Blunt) as well as a brother whose existence wasn’t mentioned in the first film. In the extended prequel portion of the story, we learn how originally gentle Freya – along for the ride while Ravenna rehearsed her black widow routine on previous kings – got her magic frosty freak on after her nobleman lover seemingly burnt their infant daughter alive in order to get out of marrying her.

Having developed post-traumatic ice-generating power, Freya sets herself up in a kingdom in the north, determined to use her army of abducted child soldiers to wipe out romantic love everywhere. Two of her early conscripts are Scots-accented Eric (Conrad Khan, later  Hemsworth) and Sara (Niamh Walter, later Chastain).

Despite the brutal conditions of Freya’s army, called the Huntsmen, the two fall in love. However, when their passion for one another is discovered, Freya separates them with a wall of enchanted ice through which Eric sees Sara being killed by their friend and fellow soldier – hence Eric’s identification of himself as a widower in the first film.

Seven years pass, according to the subtitles and, by implication, in that time all the events of the previous movie happen. In The Huntsman’s present, Snow White (only her back is seen), now married to William (a briefly returning Sam Claflin), is disturbed by the malign influence of Ravenna’s magic golden mirror around the castle. It falls into the hands of CGI goblins and Eric is dispatched to retrieve and destroy it.

The dwarves, at least, look like they’re having a bit of a laugh, but that doesn’t feel like it’s the case for the actors playing the non-dwarf characters. Hemsworth and Chastain — who have absolutely zero chemistry as a couple — both seem defeated and miserable, and don’t even get to have the fun Theron and Blunt enjoy goggling their eyes while looking villainous at various points throughout.

Plus, the latter two get to model some of the very best creations – proper exhibition-worthy works of art that are the stuff of costume fans’ wildest dreams. The gowns are insanely detailed and 4K-ready down to the tiniest sequin and fake headdress feather, set off beautifully by intricate make-up and hair designs.

When the knives are drawn at the end, and CGI lets rip with the climactic destruction, it’s like a cross between Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale and RuPaul’s Drag Race. But surely something has gone very wrong with a film when viewers feel more invested in the costumes than the characters. (hollywoodreporter.com) (FREEMAN)