I loved this movie, but not quite as much as The Dark Knight. Maybe it's not fair to compare the two movies. TDK was so great there was almost no way this movie could live up to the previous installment. No villain can be as much fun as Heath Ledger's Joker was.
Luckily, the Nolan brothers (Christopher and Jonathan) and David S. Goyer chose to go in a completely different direction with this movie's villain. Instead of recasting the Joker, or going for another similar villain like the Riddler, they went with Bane. The Joker was a ruthless killer, but he also had a sense of humor. He was always trying to amuse himself. With Bane, he is all business. He will kill anyone in his way but he doesn't seem to be having much fun doing it.
It's been 8 years since the events of TDK. Batman took the fall for Harvey Dent's crimes, and everyone in Gotham believes Dent was wonderful. After his death, The Dent Act was passed which helped end organized crime in Gotham. Bruce Wayne has been holed up in his mansion for 8 years with no real contact with the outside world. He has grown a beard, walks with a cane, and everyone thinks he is living like Howard Hughes (the crazy years, anyway).
Wayne reemerges into society after a cat burglar named Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) breaks into his safe and steals his late mother's pearls. He tracks her down, and also learns that a mercenary named Bane is in Gotham. This leads to the return of Batman, although things might have been better if Batman had stayed away.
One thing I liked about the movie is how Batman sometimes does more harm than good. When Batman makes his first appearance, it's to go after Bane and his men after they have just broken into the stock exchange. Batman doesn't catch Bane, and it looks as though the police would have caught him if they hadn't been distracted by Batman. I would think there are enough cop cars to go after both, but Commissioner Foley (Matthew Modine) is so eager to catch Batman he chooses to let Bane go. If Batman hadn't shown up, they probably would have caught him and the rest of the movie wouldn't have happened.
Or not. Maybe Bane had a plan to break out of jail and it wouldn't matter. But either way, Alfred (Michael Caine) points this out to Wayne, and this leads to one of several arguments between them. In one of the more heartbreaking scenes in recent memory, Alfred and Wayne end their relationship and Alfred leaves Wayne manor. It's hard to imagine Batman without Alfred at home to back him up.
Bane is a great villain. Not as much fun as the Joker was, although he does have some good lines. But he is just brutal. One hit from Bane can kill a guy. The opening sequence for the movie has Bane taken into custody by the CIA, then being rescued by his army. This is spectacular. It reminded me a little of the opening to License to Kill where Bond and Felix capture a drug kingpin by hooking a cable to his plane in mid-air, and towing it by a bigger plane. However, that sequence was child's play compared to this. See this movie in IMAX. It's worth the extra charge for this scene alone.
I also enjoyed Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle. They never refer to her as Catwoman, which was much appreciated. She had a lot to do, and while I had a hard time believing that Bruce Wayne would fall for her as much as he does, or forgive her crimes so easily, she was a refreshing addition to the cast.
The best character in the movie is John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a young cop who never stopped believing in Batman. There is a stretch of time where Christian Bale is offscreen, and Gordon-Levitt becomes the star of the movie. And I didn't miss Bale at all because John Blake was such a good character.
When Batman Begins first came out, I remarked how much I loved that Gary Oldman was cast as Commissioner Gordon. So often he either plays sinister villains or crazy people. It was nice to see him get to play not only a nice guy but the moral center of Gotham. Go back and re-watch Batman Begins, and notice how noble Oldman is without being corny or obnoxious.
Oldman is back as Gordon, but this time I didn't like his performance as much. I don't think he raised his voice nearly this much in the first two movies, and it doesn't seem like he is playing quite the same character. I guess is makes sense that the guilt he feels for lying the last 8 years have changed him a little, but I wanted the same Gordon from the first two movies. But that is a minor quibble. Any Gary Oldman is better than no Gary Oldman. This applies to any movie, by the way.
Some parts of the story were hard to follow, especially in the first half hour. There is a lot to set up, including the fusion reactor that Wayne Enterprises funded, then shut down because they discovered that it could be used as a nuclear weapon. I wasn't totally clear on Miranda Tate's role either. Early in the movie it seems like scenes are missing, or cut short. We get a line of dialogue or two, and then it's suddenly the next day. This happened in TDK as well, but it seemed worse in this movie. It's like they had to cut a half hour or more out of the movie, so they left in just enough to move the plot but cut out the rest of the scenes.
Once we get into the movie, things settle down. And this is really an epic story. It's amazing how big it is. Bane manages to cut Gotham off from the rest of the world, and Gotham turns into some kind of anarchist state. There may be some kind of message there about class warfare and the poor people getting revenge on the rich people, but I didn't see it as anything political. Bane is just using people to carry out his mission, and he plays on their pettiness and fear to get them to act the way he wants.
The first time I saw it, I had some concerns about the end of the movie. Without spoiling anything, it does seem like he is trying to leave things open for another movie. I felt a little cheated by the way some of the details were wrapped up. I thought Nolan should have had more confidence in ending the series the way he wanted without giving in to studio demands.
But now that I have seen the movie a couple more times, I like the ending. It doesn't guarantee that there will be another movie. It just ends the series with a certain amount of hope. I like the way we leave these characters, and it's easy to imagine their lives going on. We should be grateful that we got 3 Batman movies that stayed true to their writer's vision, and there were no nipples on the batsuit.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Safety Not Guaranteed - 3 1/2 stars
How's this for a classified ad: Wanted: Somebody to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You'll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. I have only done this once before. Safety not guaranteed."
Darius Britt (Aubrey Plaza) is an intern at a Seattle magazine. Along with Jeff (a writer) and Arnau (an intern), Darius goes to the seaside community of Ocean View, Washington to investigate the person behind this add. Is it a joke? Is the guy crazy? Is it Doc Brown? Who would post an ad like that?
The man behind the ad is Kenneth Calloway (Mark Duplass), a grocery clerk who is extremely paranoid. He's the kind of guy who has newspaper clippings all over the walls of his house, which is located deep in the woods. He is very much a loner.
Darius tells Kenneth she wants to go back in time with him, and once she earns his trust, he starts putting her through various training exercises. As you would expect, they start to develop feelings for each other.
I really enjoyed this movie. One reason is that Aubrey Plaza is adorable. I first noticed her in Funny People, when she played the object of Seth Rogen's affection. She is also very funny in Parks and Recreation. She has a disaffected, cynical attitude that makes her very fun to watch, and it makes her a perfect match for Kenneth.
This movie moves along nicely. I was never bored, and there were a lot of funny moments that made me laugh out loud. And these were not simple gags - they were momens of humor that came from the characters. This one is highly recommended.
Darius Britt (Aubrey Plaza) is an intern at a Seattle magazine. Along with Jeff (a writer) and Arnau (an intern), Darius goes to the seaside community of Ocean View, Washington to investigate the person behind this add. Is it a joke? Is the guy crazy? Is it Doc Brown? Who would post an ad like that?
The man behind the ad is Kenneth Calloway (Mark Duplass), a grocery clerk who is extremely paranoid. He's the kind of guy who has newspaper clippings all over the walls of his house, which is located deep in the woods. He is very much a loner.
Darius tells Kenneth she wants to go back in time with him, and once she earns his trust, he starts putting her through various training exercises. As you would expect, they start to develop feelings for each other.
I really enjoyed this movie. One reason is that Aubrey Plaza is adorable. I first noticed her in Funny People, when she played the object of Seth Rogen's affection. She is also very funny in Parks and Recreation. She has a disaffected, cynical attitude that makes her very fun to watch, and it makes her a perfect match for Kenneth.
This movie moves along nicely. I was never bored, and there were a lot of funny moments that made me laugh out loud. And these were not simple gags - they were momens of humor that came from the characters. This one is highly recommended.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Moonrise Kingdom - 4 stars
Set in New England in 1965, this movie is about a couple of kids named Sam Shakusky and Suzy Bishop. Sam is an orphan and a Khaki Scout. Suzy lives with her parents (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand) and 3 younger brothers. Sam and Suzy have been pen pals for a year. Sam runs away from scout camp and Suzy runs away from home. They meet up and spend several days hiking and camping while their romance blossoms. Meanwhile the scout leader (Edward Norton), a local cop (Bruce Willis), the scout troop and Suzy's parents are all looking for the kids.
This is a really charming and quirky little movie. The cast is great fun. Bill Murray has some strange and hilarious moments. My favorite is when he walks down the stairs, shirtless, holding a bottle of whiskey in one hand and an axe in the other, and says "I'm going to find a tree to chop down." The other is when he takes his shoe off and throws it at Bruce Willis. Edward Norton is also great as the sincere scoutmaster. Harvey Kitel shows up late in the movie as a scout 'commander' and Tilda Swinton is known only as Social Services.
There is a very sweet innocence to the kids' romance. I think anyone who had a childhood crush will relate to these kids. Also the dialogue is very inventive. I don't think any twelve-year-old speaks the way Sam does, but we see right away why Suzy is the perfect match for him.
It's impossible to describe the tone and feel of this movie, but right away I knew I was in good hands. I was able to just sit back and let the story take me away. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the onscreen narration by Bob Balaban. This is a great movie.
This is a really charming and quirky little movie. The cast is great fun. Bill Murray has some strange and hilarious moments. My favorite is when he walks down the stairs, shirtless, holding a bottle of whiskey in one hand and an axe in the other, and says "I'm going to find a tree to chop down." The other is when he takes his shoe off and throws it at Bruce Willis. Edward Norton is also great as the sincere scoutmaster. Harvey Kitel shows up late in the movie as a scout 'commander' and Tilda Swinton is known only as Social Services.
There is a very sweet innocence to the kids' romance. I think anyone who had a childhood crush will relate to these kids. Also the dialogue is very inventive. I don't think any twelve-year-old speaks the way Sam does, but we see right away why Suzy is the perfect match for him.
It's impossible to describe the tone and feel of this movie, but right away I knew I was in good hands. I was able to just sit back and let the story take me away. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the onscreen narration by Bob Balaban. This is a great movie.
Savages - 3 1/2 stars
Savages is the best movie Oliver Stone has directed since Any Given Sunday. It's a very refreshing return to form after misfires like W. and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. It's also the first movie of the summer to star Taylor Kitsch and not suck. He is now 1 for 3 (Battleship and John Carter, in case you were going to ask).
Kitsch and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass) star as Chon and Ben, the most successful marijuana growers in southern California. They share a hot girlfriend named O (Blake Lively) and the 3 are living in paradise. Life is perfect. Then a Mexican drug cartel led by Elena (Salma Hayek) asks them to join forces. The guys resist, so the cartel kidnaps O and holds her ransom. If the guys want her back, they have to work with the cartel for a year.
This movie is great. I was never bored and the movie was full of surprises. After the setup, I thought that the guys would go in to rescue O and it would be a big action climax at the cartel's headquarters. I was picturing something like the end of Bad Boys 2. This would make sense since Chon is ex-military and he has a bunch of Navy SEAL friends.
But no, this is a different kind of movie. They guys deal with a crooked DEA officer (John Travolta) and the cartel's sadistic enforcer (Benicio del Toro, who steals the movie). They go along with Elena's demands while trying to double cross them at the same time. While all that is going on, O is forming a kind of mother daughter relationship with her captor, Elena. Elena's own daughter wants nothing to do with her, and she seems to view O as almost a surrogate daughter.
There is some good action in this movie, but more importantly these are interesting, smart characters who we really empathize with. And there is a lot of humor in the movie. I really enjoyed it.
Kitsch and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass) star as Chon and Ben, the most successful marijuana growers in southern California. They share a hot girlfriend named O (Blake Lively) and the 3 are living in paradise. Life is perfect. Then a Mexican drug cartel led by Elena (Salma Hayek) asks them to join forces. The guys resist, so the cartel kidnaps O and holds her ransom. If the guys want her back, they have to work with the cartel for a year.
This movie is great. I was never bored and the movie was full of surprises. After the setup, I thought that the guys would go in to rescue O and it would be a big action climax at the cartel's headquarters. I was picturing something like the end of Bad Boys 2. This would make sense since Chon is ex-military and he has a bunch of Navy SEAL friends.
But no, this is a different kind of movie. They guys deal with a crooked DEA officer (John Travolta) and the cartel's sadistic enforcer (Benicio del Toro, who steals the movie). They go along with Elena's demands while trying to double cross them at the same time. While all that is going on, O is forming a kind of mother daughter relationship with her captor, Elena. Elena's own daughter wants nothing to do with her, and she seems to view O as almost a surrogate daughter.
There is some good action in this movie, but more importantly these are interesting, smart characters who we really empathize with. And there is a lot of humor in the movie. I really enjoyed it.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
The Amazing Spider-Man - 2 1/2 stars
Before I went in to watch this movie, I tried really hard to not think about the Sam Raimi Spider Man movies of the last decade. I tried to forget how good they were and judge this movie on its own merits.
Even doing that, I was disappointed by this new Spider Man movie.
Once again, we have the origin story. Considering that we got one only 10 years ago, couldn't they have just made a stand alone Spider Man movie? Do it like the Bond movies. We don't get an origin story each time a new actor plays James Bond (Casino Royale was the first time they had done that).
This time, we get some back story on Peter Parker's parents. His father was involved in some kind of secret research, and his parents abandon him when he's only 7 or 8 years old. They leave him with Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field), and then they disappear. Cut to 10 years later and Peter is an awkward high school kid (played by Andrew Garfield). He has a nice old fashioned camera (not sure why he wasn't using digital), and we learn right away that he likes taking pictures. We also see that he likes Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone).
Eventually he will get bitten by a genetically altered spider, giving him his superpowers. He will also inadvertently cause the death of his uncle Ben. He will go after criminals in order to avenge Uncle Ben's death, he will make his Spider Man suit, and he will fight a supervillain, in this movie a man turned into a large reptile.
First, I will focus on some things I liked about this movie. I liked Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. There are a couple of scenes between Peter and Gwen that were really fun. They have a natural chemistry (it doesn't hurt that they are dating in real life), and she is very good at comedy. Considering director Marc Webb's previous movie was the great (500) Days of Summer, it makes sense that he would do a good job with the scenes involving the romance.
I also liked the effects. One thing that bugged me in Sam Raimi's movies was the CGI. Every time Spider Man started climbing walls or swinging on his spider lines, it looked really cartoonish. Not so this time around. It looks like Andrew Garfield was really doing those things. Sometimes the camera gave us a first person view of what Peter was seeing, and it was really cool.
I also liked that his web shooters were things he made, which is how they were before Sam Raimi's movies. I would have liked a little more detail about how they worked. It looked like he kept them attached to his inner wrists with the suit on, but where were they when he wasn't wearing the suit? I saw him shoot webs sometimes when he didn't have the suit on, so they must have been handy. Was he ever in danger of running out of webbing? Did he refill them every time he got back from a night of crime fighting?
I also liked the climax a lot. I won't spoil anything, but the movie went further than I expected it to go.
Ok, things I didn't like. The obvious one is this movie isn't necessary. They basically remade the 2002 Spider Man. They changed some story details, but the important beats are the same. Like I said before, don't give us another origin story. The first half of the movie is just waiting for the things you know are coming (the spider bite, Uncle Ben's death, ect).
The music also bothered me. Even without comparing the score to Danny Elfman's, the music was all wrong. It was too triumphant and happy. Within the first 5 minutes of the movie, we are getting music that is too overly dramatic and just didn't work for me at all.
I think Martin Sheen and Sally Field were the wrong choices for Uncle Ben and Aunt May. They are just too well known from other roles to play these characters. I did enjoy some of Martin Sheen's scenes, but Sally Field is given nothing to do. I'm reminded of what an impact Rosemary Harris made as Aunt May in the other movies. Also, the dialogue given to Sheen and Field is horrible.
The movie is too long, and it's boring in a lot of places. There are some fun sequences, but there are several 10-15 minute stretches that were just boring. I really didn't care much about Peter's father's back story. And there are too many coincidental character relationships. Peter's father worked with Dr. Curt Connors, who also happens to be mentor to Gwen Stacy, who interns at Oscorp Labs despite being in high school. And Gwen's father just happens to be the police chief who is trying to capture the vigilante Spider Man.
Last, there aren't enough good scenes. I can think of a dozen scenes from the previous Spider Man movies that were either exciting, funny, or dramatic. But there are no scenes that really stick with me from this movie.
The only reason Sony made this movie (besides to make a lot of money) was so they didn't lose the rights to Spider Man. They shouldn't be rebooting a franchise so soon. They should have let Sam Raimi make Spider Man 4.
Even doing that, I was disappointed by this new Spider Man movie.
Once again, we have the origin story. Considering that we got one only 10 years ago, couldn't they have just made a stand alone Spider Man movie? Do it like the Bond movies. We don't get an origin story each time a new actor plays James Bond (Casino Royale was the first time they had done that).
This time, we get some back story on Peter Parker's parents. His father was involved in some kind of secret research, and his parents abandon him when he's only 7 or 8 years old. They leave him with Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field), and then they disappear. Cut to 10 years later and Peter is an awkward high school kid (played by Andrew Garfield). He has a nice old fashioned camera (not sure why he wasn't using digital), and we learn right away that he likes taking pictures. We also see that he likes Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone).
Eventually he will get bitten by a genetically altered spider, giving him his superpowers. He will also inadvertently cause the death of his uncle Ben. He will go after criminals in order to avenge Uncle Ben's death, he will make his Spider Man suit, and he will fight a supervillain, in this movie a man turned into a large reptile.
First, I will focus on some things I liked about this movie. I liked Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. There are a couple of scenes between Peter and Gwen that were really fun. They have a natural chemistry (it doesn't hurt that they are dating in real life), and she is very good at comedy. Considering director Marc Webb's previous movie was the great (500) Days of Summer, it makes sense that he would do a good job with the scenes involving the romance.
I also liked the effects. One thing that bugged me in Sam Raimi's movies was the CGI. Every time Spider Man started climbing walls or swinging on his spider lines, it looked really cartoonish. Not so this time around. It looks like Andrew Garfield was really doing those things. Sometimes the camera gave us a first person view of what Peter was seeing, and it was really cool.
I also liked that his web shooters were things he made, which is how they were before Sam Raimi's movies. I would have liked a little more detail about how they worked. It looked like he kept them attached to his inner wrists with the suit on, but where were they when he wasn't wearing the suit? I saw him shoot webs sometimes when he didn't have the suit on, so they must have been handy. Was he ever in danger of running out of webbing? Did he refill them every time he got back from a night of crime fighting?
I also liked the climax a lot. I won't spoil anything, but the movie went further than I expected it to go.
Ok, things I didn't like. The obvious one is this movie isn't necessary. They basically remade the 2002 Spider Man. They changed some story details, but the important beats are the same. Like I said before, don't give us another origin story. The first half of the movie is just waiting for the things you know are coming (the spider bite, Uncle Ben's death, ect).
The music also bothered me. Even without comparing the score to Danny Elfman's, the music was all wrong. It was too triumphant and happy. Within the first 5 minutes of the movie, we are getting music that is too overly dramatic and just didn't work for me at all.
I think Martin Sheen and Sally Field were the wrong choices for Uncle Ben and Aunt May. They are just too well known from other roles to play these characters. I did enjoy some of Martin Sheen's scenes, but Sally Field is given nothing to do. I'm reminded of what an impact Rosemary Harris made as Aunt May in the other movies. Also, the dialogue given to Sheen and Field is horrible.
The movie is too long, and it's boring in a lot of places. There are some fun sequences, but there are several 10-15 minute stretches that were just boring. I really didn't care much about Peter's father's back story. And there are too many coincidental character relationships. Peter's father worked with Dr. Curt Connors, who also happens to be mentor to Gwen Stacy, who interns at Oscorp Labs despite being in high school. And Gwen's father just happens to be the police chief who is trying to capture the vigilante Spider Man.
Last, there aren't enough good scenes. I can think of a dozen scenes from the previous Spider Man movies that were either exciting, funny, or dramatic. But there are no scenes that really stick with me from this movie.
The only reason Sony made this movie (besides to make a lot of money) was so they didn't lose the rights to Spider Man. They shouldn't be rebooting a franchise so soon. They should have let Sam Raimi make Spider Man 4.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Prometheus - 3 stars
Prometheus is a quasi-prequel to Alien. I say that because the press release claims it is not a prequel, but it sure seems like a prequel. At the very least, it takes place in the same universe as the Alien movies, so take that for what it's worth.
From the wikipedia synopsis:
In 2089, archaeologist couple Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway discover a star map among several unconnected ancient cultures. They interpret this as an invitation from humanity's forerunners, the "Engineers". Peter Weyland, the elderly founder of the Weyland Corporation, funds the creation of the scientific vessel Prometheus to follow the map to the distant moon LV-223. The ship's crew travels in stasis while the android David monitors their voyage. In 2093, the ship arrives, and its crew are informed of their mission to find the Engineers. Mission director Meredith Vickers orders them to avoid direct contact if the Engineers are found. The Prometheus lands near a structure and a team is sent to explore within.
Once the explore the structure, the movie becomes basically an Alien movie. There is life in the structure. Not exactly Aliens, but similar. Some people are killed, the android has secret motivations that put the crew's life in danger, stuff like that.
The movie looks incredible. It was filmed for 3D, so unlike many recent 3D movies, it actully uses the 3D really well. It isn't gimmicky, with things flying towards you. It just makes the scenery look more real.
I really liked the setup to this movie. In any good sci fi movie, it's thrilling to have that sense of going into the unknown. The crew is going to an alien world with no idea of what they will find. Unfortunately, there is a point in this movie where it starts to feel like a standard monster movie. It becomes, well, like an Alien movie. It is a very well made Alien movie and I wasn't bored, but I felt let down after the fantastic opening.
There is a really cool sequence late in the movie where a character has to perform surgery on herself. It is the coolest thing in the movie, and one of the most intense scenes I have seen in a long time.
From the wikipedia synopsis:
In 2089, archaeologist couple Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway discover a star map among several unconnected ancient cultures. They interpret this as an invitation from humanity's forerunners, the "Engineers". Peter Weyland, the elderly founder of the Weyland Corporation, funds the creation of the scientific vessel Prometheus to follow the map to the distant moon LV-223. The ship's crew travels in stasis while the android David monitors their voyage. In 2093, the ship arrives, and its crew are informed of their mission to find the Engineers. Mission director Meredith Vickers orders them to avoid direct contact if the Engineers are found. The Prometheus lands near a structure and a team is sent to explore within.
Once the explore the structure, the movie becomes basically an Alien movie. There is life in the structure. Not exactly Aliens, but similar. Some people are killed, the android has secret motivations that put the crew's life in danger, stuff like that.
The movie looks incredible. It was filmed for 3D, so unlike many recent 3D movies, it actully uses the 3D really well. It isn't gimmicky, with things flying towards you. It just makes the scenery look more real.
I really liked the setup to this movie. In any good sci fi movie, it's thrilling to have that sense of going into the unknown. The crew is going to an alien world with no idea of what they will find. Unfortunately, there is a point in this movie where it starts to feel like a standard monster movie. It becomes, well, like an Alien movie. It is a very well made Alien movie and I wasn't bored, but I felt let down after the fantastic opening.
There is a really cool sequence late in the movie where a character has to perform surgery on herself. It is the coolest thing in the movie, and one of the most intense scenes I have seen in a long time.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Snow White and the Huntsman - 2 1/2 stars
Snow White and the Huntsman isn't a bad movie, but it isn't very good either. It's one of those movies that's kind of right in the middle, and those are the hardest to review. It's easy to review a movie I loved or hated, but this is just kind of meh.
In the second Snow White movie of 2012, Snow White's mother dies when Snow is very young. Her father, the king, meets a beautiful woman named Ravenna (Charlize Theron). He falls under her spell and marries her the next day. That night, Ravenna kills the king and brings her own army into the castle to ensure her takeover of the kingdom. Snow White is locked in the dungeons.
Years pass and Snow White is now played by Kristen Stewart. When evil queen Ravenna asks her magic mirror who the fairest one of all is, well, you know the rest. Snow White escapes, a hunter (Chris Hemsworth) is sent to bring her back, he falls in love with her, they meet 8 dwarfs (not 7), they get an army together to take back the kingdom, and so on.
Charlize Theron is a good actress, but she isn't right for this role. And her acting is so over the top that I was laughing at her when she yelled at her subjects. Kristen Stewart does a fine British accent, and Chris Hemsworth isn't bad. I thought the movie dragged in a few places, but I don't think I was ever bored.
But wow, this movie really wants to be Lord of the Rings. There are many shots that are exactly the same, like the shot of the Snow White, the Huntsman, and the dwarfs walking across the countryside and over mountains. That shot looked exactly like the Fellowship heading to Mordor. A scene of the evil queen standing on the castle parapet watching the army approach looks just like Saurumon with Wormtoungue standing at his shoulder. There is even a scene near the end where Snow White has to give a rousing speech to her army.
This isn't a movie you need to avoid, but there really isn't any reason to see it.
In the second Snow White movie of 2012, Snow White's mother dies when Snow is very young. Her father, the king, meets a beautiful woman named Ravenna (Charlize Theron). He falls under her spell and marries her the next day. That night, Ravenna kills the king and brings her own army into the castle to ensure her takeover of the kingdom. Snow White is locked in the dungeons.
Years pass and Snow White is now played by Kristen Stewart. When evil queen Ravenna asks her magic mirror who the fairest one of all is, well, you know the rest. Snow White escapes, a hunter (Chris Hemsworth) is sent to bring her back, he falls in love with her, they meet 8 dwarfs (not 7), they get an army together to take back the kingdom, and so on.
Charlize Theron is a good actress, but she isn't right for this role. And her acting is so over the top that I was laughing at her when she yelled at her subjects. Kristen Stewart does a fine British accent, and Chris Hemsworth isn't bad. I thought the movie dragged in a few places, but I don't think I was ever bored.
But wow, this movie really wants to be Lord of the Rings. There are many shots that are exactly the same, like the shot of the Snow White, the Huntsman, and the dwarfs walking across the countryside and over mountains. That shot looked exactly like the Fellowship heading to Mordor. A scene of the evil queen standing on the castle parapet watching the army approach looks just like Saurumon with Wormtoungue standing at his shoulder. There is even a scene near the end where Snow White has to give a rousing speech to her army.
This isn't a movie you need to avoid, but there really isn't any reason to see it.
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