Snow White and the Huntsman

Marking the feature debut of an impressive filmmaker, this, the second take on Snow White in as many months, is a far superior effort than (the dire) Mirror Mirror. Sanders' film plays like Gladiator mated with the classic fairytale and had a moody baby. Tonally this should not work; but unconventional casting and very slick helming make this blockbuster more than worth your time.

Twilight's resident moper Kristen Stewart is our titular heroine, Snow White; a beautiful and kind young lady who has been imprisoned for damn near a decade after Charlize Theron's wicked witch marries her auld lad, then promptly murders the poor bastard. A kingdom once filled with love, puppydogs and ice-cream, is now a horrible place full of dark corners and people with really bad teeth - this is how we know people are peasants in medieval flicks, ya see. When Theron's narcissistic witch and her inexplicably albino, uncomfortably close brother, realise that Snow White is the reason she isn't the fairest in the land, they set about to kill her dead - but she escapes into the woods. Blackmailing Hemsworth's knowledgeable woodsman into finding her, soon he's on Team Snowy and sets about protecting her and taking down queen bitch.

Far from perfect, there are an awful lot of potholes here, and if you sat down and really looked at them the film wouldn't make a hell of a lot of sense. But - the producers will argue - this is based on a fairytale and really if they can't get a pass then what films can? Besides, Sanders slick, often dynamic handling of the action and ambience more than covers the aforementioned craters. It's a very assured debut, and he's as comfortable in the character exchanges as he is with building atmosphere - not often the case in "epic" films of a similar ilk.

While struggling a little with the accent, Hemsworth easily embodies the masculinity required for the huntsman and actually shines in some of the films quieter moments. Theron is excellent; she's not given nearly enough screen time as the mechanics of the plot need moving along, but she's a great villain - actually managing to give her character a of hint depth despite all of the horrible things she does. As for Stewart, her casting certainly surprised some; the actress has an often awkward style of delivery and it wasn’t seen as the perfect fit for such a conventionally thought of character. But her vulnerability actually serves her well; this is a young woman who has been cut off from the outside world for a very long time so the casting is spot on. It's the young actresses' best work to date and she should win herself some new fans - even if she never really convinces with the physicality of the role.

A very enjoyable, extremely well made blockbuster.