If you have to deal with another version of Snow White (which I don’t understand why we do) you would think that a kick-ass Snow White might be the answer to your prayers. Not so much. Kristen Stewart plays the princess held in the tower by the evil Queen Ravenna played by Charlize Theron. The queen keeps her power and hold on the kingdom — including her obsession with being the fairest of them all — by living off the blood of young girls. Charlize looks gorgeous and is exquisitely costumed yet has really not much to do aside from screaming “Get Me Snow White” to her creepy albino like brother with a very bad haircut.
Snow White who has escaped the Queen and spends most of the film in preparation to avenge her kingdom. She runs into the huntsman who had been hired by the Queen to retrieve her so she can eat her heart and remain young forever, but he winds up joining her aide and helping her to take down the Queen. And of course, you can’t have a movie about Snow White without the dwarves who in a failed attempt to be clever are played by amazing actors like Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Eddie Marsan and Toby Jones.
The entire movie leads up to the epic battle which is where we get to see Snow White don armor, ride a horse and kick some ass. The biggest problem is that Kristen Stewart looks incredibly uncomfortable as she calls her troops together imploring them to follow her into battle.
This film tries to give a whole girl power feel to it. Snow White fights for her future and her people. She fights, which is clearly a huge step forward. But she needs better words to say and an actress that make us believe that she wants to fight. Just because she’s not a limp fairy tale character doesn’t make her a feminist heroine in my book.
Let’s also note that this film is the directed by first time director Rupert Sanders. Here is a guy who was handed over $100 million to make this movie. And with that money he created a gorgeous looking mess of a movie that just doesn’t hold together. No first time female director would have been given that much money, ever.
