Blanche-Neige et le chasseur

Si le film tient la route, c’est grâce à Charlize Theron et Kristen Stewart, qui font plaisir à voir et jouent bien, mais constituent surtout d’excellents choix de casting. Et on peut en dire autant pour le reste de la distribution, que ce soit pour le méchant breivikien joué par Sam Spruell ou un groupe de nains dans lequel il est possible de reconnaître au moins Ray Winstone rien que par sa voix. Étonnamment, Chris Hemsworth, dans le rôle du chasseur, reçoit très peu d’espace alors qu’il incarne l’un des personnages titulaires, et sa relation avec Blanche-Neige pourrait mieux fonctionner (au vu de son rôle titulaire). Une autre chose qui surprend est le manque d’humour chez les nains. Le film est excellent dans le premier tiers, qui est dominé par la délicieusement froide et diabolique Charlize Theron (la salope froide incarnée par Eva Green dans Dark Shadows ne lui arrive pas à la cheville). L’un dans l’autre, le film a du relief et un certain drive, captive et est plein de charme fantastique et de mystère. Les excellents visuels et la B.O. signée James Newton Howard ne surprennent pas, car ils étaient à prévoir. Quant à l’inspiration du Seigneur des anneaux, elle était probablement inévitable, mais les références à L’Histoire sans fin étaient une bonne surprise et suggèrent que le scénario du remake par Hollywood de ce dernier prendrait déjà forme sur le bureau de quelqu’un dans la Cité des anges. Cela dit, le film est trop long et sa deuxième moitié aurait dû être plus courte et plus dynamique. Dans l’ensemble, cependant, c’est toujours mieux que le puéril Narnia ou l’artificiel À la croisée des mondes. (24/05/2012)

Great fragments, but a dramatic structure very blown away (hi ho, hi ho, we come to XY, we enjoy ourselves and then they attack us), no explicitly breathtaking moment, very solid craftsmanship, but affected by the effort to sell everything to all available senses at once. For me, it lacks a bit of finesse and stronger mythology, which would combine all the much dispersed influences - for example, when the dwarves sing an "Irish folk song" and Snow White prays to God, I do not know where I actually was. Some mandatory "mighty bloody battle" phrases strongly reside here (I would cut off hands for Snow White's monologue before the final battle). On the other hand, from an acting point of view, it is absolutely excellent, and if there is something that really excites beyond sensory intoxication, then it’s the well-chosen representatives of key roles (perhaps only Kristen gets a big life lesson from the predatory milf Charlize). Sanders certainly has a knack for playing with the viewer - I'm quite curious how his broadly targeted fantasy product will fare. Overall, I fluctuate between amused distance and enthusiasm - especially where this dirty girl dares to be really dirty and more daring than the polished genre competition. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm did not come despite a few good flashes. P.S. When The Witcher is filmed in Hollywood, Chris Hemsworth should be given the role of Geralt. The guy has style... (23/05/2012)

A mirror with no taste (Kristen more beautiful than Charlize; how could the screenwriters think that somebody would believe such nonsense?), visually well done, solid tempo, a lot of action, wasted dwarfs (such a cast and then they just get one proper scene), a couple of necrophilic kisses, one lesbian kiss and no kiss out of true love… And that is maybe the biggest (and not by far the only) mistake; you can feel the lack of feeling here and that was, is and always will be an crucial problem in a fairytale. Despite all its likability, it’s simply cold and that’s a shame, because otherwise for this Snow White – a successor of the fantasy genre so popular and wide-spread mainly in the 80’s, I would have had only words of praise. (04/06/2012)

I was looking forward to Snow White and the Huntsman. I am always looking forward to a fantasy. And it’s even more pleasant when I see it’s the director’s first proper movie. Hats off for the imagination of the Snow White’s world. I really liked that. Even though it was narrated well, the story was a routine one. In fact, the whole movie is really obvious and if you know the original story and can imagine it in the form of a narrative fantasy story like Lord of the Rings, the result will look like this movie. Kirsten Stewart could finally stop staring open-mouthed at everyone around her, but that was about the only flaw I could find with the actors. They performed their best and that is a good thing. Next time it would be better with less digital effects. The two castles could definitely have been made less monumental and more real to give the fantasy movie the realistic feel it deserves. At least in that respect. (25/04/2013)

At the beginning I was surprised at how much I was enjoying it (I wasn’t expecting anything from it), but as the minutes went by, the enthusiasm waned and I ended at around 4/10. Nice visuals and a demonic Charlize aren’t enough to carry 127 minutes with a stupid script, a wooden Snow White and an unremarkable prince. (05/09/2012)