Of the two ‘Snow White’ themed movies coming to theaters this year (Seriously, Hollywood?) I was looking forward to this one a lot more. I’m not really into fairy tales and romance and that is exactly what intrigued me about this one, it didn’t seem to follow the Disney themed plot at all. And if you research the original German tale of which the cartoon is based off of, this film follows it much more closely. And let’s be honest, the marketing for it made the film look out of this world! So how did ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ turn out?

Well after seeing it I can say I thoroughly enjoyed myself. At a lengthy 127 minutes run time I didn’t find myself bored or looking at my watch/cell phone once. I totally dug the dark and morbid tone of the film. The score was phenomenal, the sets were extravagant, the special effects were top notch, and the action scenes were epic. In short, this film LOOKED fantastic. This is director Rupert Sanders’ debut film and as far as visuals go he knocked it out of the park. He also had an A-list cast to help him out! Kristen Stewart, who I normally despise off the camera (I can’t stand her uncomfortable awkwardness), was actually tolerable in this film (although occasionally she regresses to her ‘Twilight’ habits of angst-y kissing as if she’s in pain), and Chris Hemsworth was perfect as the hunky Huntsman. Hemsworth is having a fantastic year in film isn’t he?

But the person who deserves more credit than anyone involved with this film is the one and only Charlize Theron. If Theron were not in this film I am not sure I would have enjoyed it nearly as much. Not only is she absolutely stunning, but she has some real acting chops on her. She nailed the Evil Queen role to a tee, and I loved every minute of it. Is it bad that I kind of wanted her character to come out on top in the end? Despite all of her treachery throughout the film I rooted for her the entire time!

With all of that being said, this film was not exactly perfect. So what didn’t I love about it? The film lacked a little back story in terms of some of the characters. There is a quick flashback to the Evil Queen’s childhood with her mother, and when I say quick I mean literally about a minute long! I needed much more to understand why she is the way she is and that flashback didn’t provide it! Same goes for the Huntsman, there is some brief exposition provided in dialogue but I wanted to see more about his past. But my biggest complaint about this film has to be the character of Prince William. I bet most audiences didn’t even know he was in this film considering he is totally absent from all the advertising. His character is a complete throwaway and there was absolutely zero chemistry between him and Snow White. It almost seemed like they threw his character in last minute to provide a love-triangle with the Huntsman which was really unnecessary. It is because of this love-triangle that the ending of the film is absolutely atrocious. Believe me, you will be pissed with the final moments of this movie, there’s no way it will please any audience.

But despite its many flaws, this film worked for me. I went in expecting epic battle scenes and a kick-ass Charlize Theron and that is exactly what I got. I just wish studios would stop throwing pointless love triangles down our throats to please the tweens out there! If you think you would be able to get passed the crappy romance and lack of backstories, you should definitely check this film out, it’s worth it based on the special effects alone!

SEE IT.