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Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

** (out of 4)

2012 will be the year of Snow White as here comes the fourth version of the classic tale behind MIRROR MIRROR as well as two direct-to-DVD releases. This one here features Kristen Stewart playing Snow White who gets thrown from her kingdom by the wicked Queen (Charlize Theron) who is in need of her youth. Soon a Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) is called upon to capture Snow White but when he understands what is going on he decides to join forces with her. SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN is a pretty looking film but there's really no meat on its bones and in the end we're left with a rather lifeless production that has some good stuff but in the end the film is just downright dull. There are quite a few problems with the picture but we can start with the casting. Stewart has proved herself to be a good actress and her work in stuff like THE RUNAWAYS have proved this but sadly she's miscast here. That dark, laid back approach works perfectly in TWILIGHT but here is just boring and it's quite obvious that this Snow White couldn't lead an ant colony let alone a kingdom. Not for a second did I believe Stewart in the role and the lack of a personality here really went against everything the character was. Theron isn't much better as the Queen. It's really hard to believe the type of performance she gives here because she goes so over-the-top that it reaches a level of where you just want to scream with how annoying the performance is. I'm not sure why Theron decided to scream so much but it really didn't do anything. Hemsworth is the one saving grace here and he actually delivers a good performance and makes much more of his role than what was on the pages. Sam Claflin isn't too bad as William but he shares no chemistry with Stewart. The CGI effects are actually pretty good here and especially the stuff dealing with the mirror as well as another scene where we see the Queen crawl out of some black tar. I also thought the scenery was quite great including the black forest and the beautiful green lands. The images here are much better than any bit of the story and that's a real shame. SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN is pretty to look at but sadly there's just no emotional connection to any of the characters. Worse of all is the fact that the film really drags in spots and for an action movie it's one of the most boring I've seen in a while.