It was a sunny afternoon and I fancied a trip to the cinema but being a tight wad I needed to take the wife along as my free pass being her carer I get in free. Well that is not exactly true, full price would be £8 for the two of us however with her disability card its £4 meaning it’s a couple of quid each in the end. I didn’t give her pre notice on the film as it was going to be a film more to my taste but I think Glenys was just happy we were going out. Still it was a movie date even if it was in the afternoon.
The movie was The Huntsman: Winter's War, which received a bit of a panning from the critics and I never listen to them anyway. I am big enough to make my own mind up.
We went to the Vue Cinema, it was a nice leisurely walk from our house, we walked along the River Taff, which was busy with water boats, and some inflatable rib boats being thrown around the river with some kids on-board, which looked fun.
It was my first time in the Vue and it felt dead we were the only patrons on the concourse in fact we were the only two in for the Huntsman until a young couple joined us so just the four of us. As I said earlier, ‘The Huntsman Winter’s War was roundly panned so this could be interesting.
First we had ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ with a sequel planned that was thrown into the bin after Director Rupert Sanders got up to some naughty with Snow White, Kristen Stewart, it got all very messy. The Huntsman: Winter’s War is a kind of prequel where we see how the huntsman became the huntsman and then we jump forward with Snow White now Queen.
Eric the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), last seen helping defeat the evil Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) in Snow White and the Huntsman. As fans will recall, Eric had a lost love, Sara his wife and due to his loss, he had become a bit of a womaniser and drunk in his sorrow. With a bit of lusting for Snow White sorted is life out for the better.
We get to meet the younger and then older Sara who is played by (Jessica Chastain) and what happened up to her supposed death sorry for the bit of a spoiler. Sara isn’t the only newbie to this fairy-tale franchise with Queen Ravenna having a sister, well I must say I didn’t know that, Freya (Emily Blunt). The story starts with Freya all sweetness and light until her baby’s daddy burns baby alive, which we find out why later in the film. This unleashes her inner anger – and goes all Elsa like in Frozen and retreat to her own ice palace, like Frozen. Freya gathers an army of children (including the younger Eric and Sara) to train them into a deadly army of huntsmen and women.
Freya’s law – “Do not love!” – but Eric and Sara disobey, until their icy Queen discovers their treachery and splits them apart. Still, The Huntsman: Winter’s War isn’t all backstory; flashing forward seven years, we meet Eric again, who runs into the Prince (Sam Claflin), informing him that Snow White is ill and the magic mirror has gone missing. Containing the evil essence of Ravenna, the mirror must be found before Freya gets her hands on it.
Eric, meanwhile, teams up with a quartet of dwarves: Nion (returnee Nick Frost); Gryff (Rob Brydon), Doreena (Alexandra Roach) and Mrs Bromwyn (Sheridan Smith). Brydon is a hoot (“Have you ever seen a female dwarf? Horrifying!”) Smith almost steals the show, making eyes at Eric.
There are some great-looking Goblins in the film while the background details – creatures, fairies, furry snakes and so on – are what you would expect. The balance between past and present, all that axe-flinging, ice-casting action makes a modest impact.
Blunt is credible as Freya, but Hemsworth and Chastain, give an ok performance along with all the other characters. Thankfully, when Ravenna does return (it’s in the trailer, spoiler-haters), Theron kicks serious ass. But even she can’t save a middling third act where the emotional stakes never really pay off.
My verdict as I always say especially when the critics give a movie a kicking was I entertained, and I was. Maybe there was not another action for me but I left the cinema content.
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