Mirror Mirror

MIRROR, MIRROR is one of two major Snow White movies coming out this year. The second one is SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN, which premieres in June. From the trailers the two movies look absolutely nothing alike. While I don't have any problems with a fairy tale princess taking levels in sheer awesome being a competent woman, I'm not sure if the grim and grittiness is the best way to do it. Why does a woman have to become grim and gritty to be badass? But this is neither here nor there. I have yet to see SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN because of an unfortunate lack of a time machine so I can't compare the two. (If I did have a time machine, I'd be going to see other movies, such as THE HOBBIT in December, among other worthwhile pursuits.)

What I can do is review MIRROR,MIRROR. Directed by Tarsem Singh (who also directed THE CELL) it stars Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen, Lily Collins as Snow White and Armie Hammer as Prince Alcott in a fun and often tongue and cheek romp through the fairy tale.

The movie starts with the basic premise of Snow White's father, the King (played by Sean Bean), marries the Evil Queen and then mysteriously vanishes into the dark woods while trying to find an evil and dark creature threatening his kingdom. Snow White is left with her stepmother who proceeds to lock her up in the castle, forbidden, for her own good, to leave. Snow listens to the Queen but on her eighteenth birthday things start to change from the traditional fairy tale as she meets the prince and decides to take matters into her own hands.

Julia Roberts' queen is a petty and not really malicious evil. She wants the finest things in life and will do whatever she wants to get them even if it bankrupts the kingdom. She wants to be the most beautiful in the land, and if that requires Snow White to die then so be it. She is fun to watch as she tries to get Prince Alcott to marry her.

On the other hand, Lily Collin's Snow White is a bit on the bland side. She has to play the innocent and naive waif who learns to stand on her own two feet, which generally isn't a role with much to do. However, her Snow White actually does things. She doesn't wait for her prince to come to change things. She actively goes out to try and stop the queen herself.

I think the best thing about the movie was Hammer's prince. He manages to keep an awkward straight face to the Queen's flirtations and is a capable warrior. Later on in the movie he seems to be having a great deal of fun with the situations handed to him.

One thing I have to mention is that the costumes – especially the Queen's – and the sets are utterly gorgeous, a delight to look at. Most of the sets are in shades of white and gray while a lot of the costumes are brilliantly-colored, creating an interesting and delightful contrast to watch as the characters move through the world. They aren't completely realistic, but the story isn't realistic either and so it helps create the fairy tale illusion.

The story is sufficiently different that it keeps you guessing on how it's going to turn out. You know that the Evil Queen will be defeated and Snow White will get the prince, but the how is left up in the air well enough to keep you entertained. It is most definitely not a serious movie, but one that is a nice way to spend a lazy afternoon. It leaves you with a satisfied feeling… if a bit bewildered by the sudden Bollywood style dance number during the credits.

– Gabrielle Lissauer

This review first appeared in Geek Speak Magazine - www.geekspeakmagazine.com

I can only think of one other movie where Julia Roberts is cast in a negative role. When news broke out that Roberts will play the evil queen in this Grimm's fairy tale adaptation, I just couldn't resist. Let's face it, it's not everyday you get to see the most popular actress in the world (with the best smile in Hollywood) play an evil and conniving character. In this version, the story remains true to original, if not with a wacky twist and a lot of humor.

After the king disappears under mysterious circumstances, Snow White (Lily Collins) learns that her step-mother the queen (Roberts) has been plundering and looting from the people of the land. After rescuing a prince (Armie Hammer)from seven 'little' highway bandits, and gaining his affection, Snow White is banished to the forest when the queen sees wealth and power in the guise of the unwitting prince; besides his use as her toy-boy. Snow White must now team up with the aforementioned bandits and win back her birthright, her prince, and restore her father's kingdom to its former glory. Thus begins an itchy cat-fight with a capital B.

Having just watched this movie, I can't say that this is the best adaptation thus far, given its PG classification. However, considering that there are two other versions slated for a 2012 release, including a darker version starring the emotionless Kristen Stewart, I am forced to say that "Mirror Mirror" suffices as a decent family adventure-comedy. Having cut a niche for himself in visual esthetics and art design, director Tarsem Singh creates a vivid and colorful world with innovative sets and costumes – a standard that is rapidly becoming his cinematic insignia after his work from "The Cell" to last year's "Immortals". Singh also scores with intended comic relief, given that he has had to work with a story where the audience knows what to expect. When you consider the story's comic backbone complete with slapstick moments, Roberts's sarcastic one-liners arising from a witty script and the ever amusing Nathan Lane as the queen's royal subject, this movie becomes a lighthearted stab at one of the oldest and most adapted fairy tales. That said, this version sits well with the intended audience in its narration, if you go in expecting a simple and entertaining movie.

I really can't say that I was captivated by the acting. Collins as Snow White and Hammer as the prince are just so-so as protagonists of an age old tale. Given the age of 'girl power', it is no surprise that Snow White here is a spirited young girl that not even for a moment, appears to be a damsel in distress. On the other hand, the prince is comical in almost all scenes, stripping (pun unintended) his character of any chivalry from the original tale. As the movie is narrated in the queen's perspective, it becomes apparent that the story is less about Snow White and more about the queen and her vanity. This chain of thought is what gives "Mirror Mirror" a new spin to the old yarn. Personally, I strongly feel that Julia Roberts steals the show – not because I expected her to – but simply because the story appears to have been scripted with a lot of focus on her character. It's almost as if this version was written by the evil queen herself.

For the most part, Singh's work here is a tad bit above average in re-telling a grand old tale. He keeps it simple while giving it a fresh and anti-Disney twist. Then he goes and ruins it with a totally unnecessary and bizarre ending. Did Singh copy this off Tommy O'Haver's "Ella Enchanted" or did he want to give the finale a Bollywood twist? If Singh has used this movie to say something about his roots, then he has picked the wrong movie to do so. Mixing Hollywood and Bollywood themes within the same movie is always risky. Danny Boyle may have gotten away with it in "Slumdog Millionaire" because of its theme on poverty and the hugely popular underdog factor. All said and done, if it were not for Snow White doing the "Bhangra", I would have easily rated this film as a good start to 2012. Even so, if you are willing to overcome your disbelief in the end, the greater part of this movie is not half as bad.

OK - so this is a major re-working of Snow White and in fact you could say that it is an entirely different story...bar the principle character names. But to read some of the comments here would be to be mis-led in the extreme in my terribly humble opinion. Not being a huge Ms Roberts fan I was unsure as to how I would react to her as a dominant player in fable setting - but she was capable and trod a fine line between villainy and comedy that worked. Of the other characters - as has been noted Snow White stole the show and was a capable lead and will doubtless go on to far grander things. But the actors delivering the Dwarf story-line were also in keeping with the piece - OK not hugely polished but capable of delivering in the contexts of fantasy. But the real reason for leaving this review is really because of my kids - they loved it. They were scared, amused, excited and involved throughout the film and left having sat through the credit dance sequence first. And frankly it is a film aimed more at them than most reviewers here. So let's not be too sniffy about "truth" or "thespianism" or indeed "realism" - this is a young persons film and looked great, didn't patronise them and had some great ideas brought to life - not always successfully but with a touch of humour and imagination so in my book it's a winner and not to be judged too harshly.

You know something is wrong with a Snow White movie, when the evil queen is looking better than Snow White herself.

Basically this is movie that is a very loose adaption of the brothers Grimm story, about Snow White and the seven dwarfs. Loose adaptation perhaps isn't the best way to say it. It's more of a very own and very different interpretation of the classic fairy tale, that changes lots of things around but unfortunately not in a very good or interesting enough way.

This project definitely had some potential in it but it doesn't dare to take things far enough. It now instead comes across as a lame, half attempt, at re-imagining, the classic fairy tale. What could had been a very atmospheric and perhaps also darker take on the story, works out as a lame and odd one instead.

I don't even really know how to take this movie in the first place. It's not adventurous enough for an adventure/fantasy movie, not funny or entertaining enough for a comedy and not serious enough for a drama. It seems that they were mostly going for a comical and entertaining approach but the humor is often so incredibly lame, simplistic and predictable, that this movie is only funny to watch for some young kids, who simply don't know any better yet. I don't know, perhaps this also was the crowd this movie was going for, since it certainly feels like a live action Disney movie at times but I just can't say for sure, since this movie is taking so many different different kinds of approaches at times, to its visual style and story.

Really, I like Tarsem Singh's his style and visual approach to all of his movies but he often seems to have some problems with the storytelling and focus of the story. This movie often goes all over the place. The first half is pretty much focusing on the evil queen, played by Julia Roberts, while the second half suddenly is all about Snow White. There is not a good enough balance between each of those two characters, as if Julia Roberts demanded she would get first billing and the writers, in a frenzy, changed the script around, which certainly went at the expensive of everything and everyone else in this movie.

There are still a couple of interesting visual moments in this movie, as you could expect from a Singh movie. However, yet the movie still doesn't feel like a very imaginative one, or like it is taking place in a magical fairy tale world. Instead the movie feels and looks like it is taking place in a studio, all the time. Besides, it also really seems like Tarsem Singh was holding back this time with his visual style, which was also really another disappointment about this movie.

Not a great movie at all!

5/10

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The film is a cute comedy - not a favorite but fun to watch. Lily Collins is great in this so is Julia Roberts. My favorite part of the film is the ending when Sean Bean arrives - very funny.

Worth watching with the kids - a fun twist on the Snow White tale.

5.5/10