‘The Huntsman: Winter’s War’ Review Roundup: Snow White Sequel Slammed By Critics

The Huntsman: Winter’s War, the sequel/prequel to 2012’s Snow White and The Huntsman, has failed to win over critics.

In The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Chris Hemsworth reprises the titular role, while Kristen Stewart’s Snow White is noticeably absent. Emily Blunt has joined the cast as Ice Queen Freya, the younger sister of Ravenna, played once again by Charlize Theron. The movie builds up to a massive confrontation that pits Ravenna and Freya against the Huntsman and Sara (Jessica Chastain), two of Freya’s former warriors who were banished for defying her rule against love.

The Huntsman: Winter’s War Reviews

The general consensus seems to be that Snow White and The Huntsman never should have spawned a sequel. Though the first one did well at the box office, both critics and viewers alike left theaters less than impressed. This time around, with the fantastical element in full swing and with more big names attached to the film in the form of Blunt and Chastain, expectations were built only to be let down.

“The Huntsman: Winter’s War is as beautiful as its macho lead actor Chris Hemsworth is handsome. The movie is also as vacuous, silly and boring as Hemsworth is awkward and awful in the title role. Stating the obvious, gorgeous visuals are pointless if the story is as stupid and the characters are as lame as they are here. So there is no way to recommend this prequel/sequel to the 2012 fairytale fantasy adventure, Snow White and the Huntsman.” – Bruce Kirkland, Toronto Sun

“Technically a prequel to 2012’s also-lavishly flimsy box-office hit, Snow White and the Huntsman, the film looks absolutely stunning (especially Colleen Atwood’s lusciously medieval costumes, which feel like Game of Thrones by way of Christian Dior). But there’s nothing dramatically interesting or original beneath all of the spectacle. It’s the movie equivalent of a cake that’s all frosting. With the absence of Kristen Stewart’s Snow White this time around, what we’re left with is a quartet of scenery-chewing performances that are broad enough to be Kabuki theater.” – Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly

“Sampling Tolkien, Disney, and Grimm, The Huntsman: Winter’s War lays on the pastiche in slabs, but no one is slouching here. Theron proves the master of operatic hissy fits, Blunt lets the pain show beneath the glacial cool, Chastain brings her usual Juilliard-schooled commitment to the occasion, and Hemsworth is Hemsworthian, if oft-times incomprehensible, delivering his lines in a gorse-y whorl of vowels and consonants.” – Steven Rea, Philadelphia Enquirer

“It’s unclear who, exactly, this film is aimed at: It’s too violent for younger kids, while older ones will likely roll their eyes. And it’s hard to imagine adults eagerly awaiting the new season of “Game of Thrones” will consider this an acceptable placeholder, despite its similar million-shades-of-gray palette and medieval getups. What’s a real drag here is the waste of three formidable actresses in first-rate Comic-Con gear — Chastain is channeling a kind of high-couture “Xena: Warrior Princess” look — obscured behind underwhelming CGI, dull dialogue and a title that only gives credence to the man in the story. The more things change, eh, ladies?” – Sara Stewart, New York Post

The Huntsman: Winter’s War is currently in wide release.