The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016) [Blu-ray]
Action | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

Tagline: The story before Snow White

As two evil sisters prepare to conquer the land; two renegades - Eric the Huntsmen - who previously aided Snow White in defeating Ravenna, and his forbidden lover, Sara set out to stop them.

Storyline: The evil Ravenna finds that her sister Freya is pregnant and in love with a noble. Freya gives birth to a baby girl but her beloved lover murders the baby and her rage unleashes ice powers and she kills him. Freya heads to North and builds a palace and an army that captures children from the villages to be raised as soldiers without love. Years later, their children Eric and Sara are grown-up and in love with each other. They plan to flee from the castle, but Freya finds and builds an ice wall between them. Eric sees Sara being murdered stabbed on her back by their friend Tull and he is dumped in a frozen river but he survives. Eric, a.k.a. The huntsman grieves the death of his beloved Sara on a daily basis. One day, Snow White is ill and her husband seeks out Eric to tell that the Magic Mirror was taken while carried to a place called Sanctuary. Eric teams-up with two dwarfs to find the mirror, but they are attacked by Freya army and saved by Sara that is alive. She tells that she ... Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, August 11, 2016 Universal is releasing 'The Huntsman: Winter's War' to both 1080p Blu-ray and 4K UHD. The first film in the series, 'Snow White and the Huntsman,' is also releasing in 4K UHD on the same date.

"A story long before happily ever after." That can mean only one thing: prequel! And sequel, too! The Huntsman: Winter's War follows up on, and moves backwards from (albeit in more of an extended flashback), Snow White and the Huntsman, a movie better remembered for its whose cheatin' who off-camera side antics than its qualities as a Fantasy retake on the classic Snow White fairy tale. Indeed, this follow-up, noticeably absent both Kristen Stewart (who played Snow White) and Director Rupert Sanders, covers a wide-swath timeline that returns to the Huntsman's childhood and spends the bulk of its runtime in a post-Snow White and the Huntsman landscape where the fairest queen rules, but fears the magic mirror's powers. The film does return Stars Chris Hemsworth as The Huntsman and Charlize Theron as Ravenna.

Through treachery, magic, and deceit, Queen Ravenna kills the king during a game of chess. The Mirror, now at her command, renders her all but invincible. Her sister Freya (Emily Blunt) sits at her side. She is pregnant by a man who is engaged to another woman. Freya believes he will love her, abandoning his life for her and their child. Indeed, he sends word that he will defy his family, marry Freya in secret, and flee the kingdom with her so they may live as they wish. But the infant dies at its father's hands. Freya, angered beyond reconcile, becomes cold and evil, shunning the concept of love and living only for war and conquest. She flees to the north in search her own kingdom to rule. Her people fear her, and her crack army of Huntsmen brutalize those who resist, seizing lands in her name. She rules as the dangerous Ice Queen and banishes the "sin" of love from her lands.

Freya raises her huntsmen, practically from birth, to serve her on the field of battle. Many years pass. She's grown a fine crop of huntsmen, but love is clandestinely in the air. Eric and Sara (Jessica Chasten) are amongst the queen's finest warriors, but they've also fallen in love. They plan to marry, secretly, and escape the queen's lands and reach with their love guiding them to happily ever after. But they're discovered, separated, their fates seemingly detached forever. Several more years pass. Queen Ravenna has been killed, replaced by the fair Snow White. The new queen succumbs to the Magic Mirror's power and orders it banished from her kingdom and returned to the safety of Sanctuary. She orders Eric, now, essentially, a rogue warrior, to carry out the task, aided by two dwarves: Nion (Nick Frost) and Gryff (Rob Brydon). The adventure to Sanctuary is wrought with peril and full of surprise as Eric's past returns to the present in the most dangerous journey of his life.

The Huntsman: Winter's War may further the saga of Snow White (in absentia, largely), Eric, and Ravenna, but it's a sequel that's not particularly creative in its endeavors or complex in its story. A fancily crafted but otherwise hollow mash-up of Snow White, Frozen, and The Lord of the Rings, the film makes for a modestly enjoyable Fantasy adventure but hardly does anything to excite, break new ground, or even serve a purpose to the greater world explored in the first picture. Themes are terribly simplistic, exploring love and loss and the gamut of human emotions that are a result of both extremes. Characters, then, lack much depth beyond core concepts that push them, even through a few nifty twists and turns that keep the audience on its toes and the story more fluid than it deserves to be.

It's a satisfactory picture in all regards beyond story. It's expertly crafted, with all the bells and whistles and whiz-bang highlights one would expect of a modern Adventure film. The picture stands well enough on its own merits, away from the story (and external noise) of the first. In fact, the first isn't even really necessary viewing to enjoy the second; some character moments and subtle development may be lost on the newcomer, but Director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan and Writers Evan Spiliotopoulos and Craig Mazin do a commendable job of keeping the movie standing on its own two feet, more a complimentary experience for series veterans and a perfectly enjoyable standalone flick for newcomers. The film is constructed around rather simplistic action scenes, complimented by light, and only occasionally annoying, humor. Digital effects impress and production design appears flawless. Other than that simplistic story, this is a perfectly enjoyable movie watching experience.

The Huntsman: Winter's War is a perfectly serviceable Fantasy/Adventure film. It doesn't do anything unique with its wares or characters, and the story doesn't really impress, but it's good enough to carry it on through its action scenes, larger moments of perilous journey, light humor, and moments of romance. The film stands on its own well enough, away from both the story of and hoopla surrounding Snow White and the Huntsman. Universal's 1080p Blu-ray release of The Huntsman: Winter's War features gorgeous picture, expert lossless/atmospheric sound, and a decent allotment of extra content, including a commentary track and a five-part making-of. Recommended.

[CSW] -2.4- I can't say I didn't like it but I can't say I did like it. Well, this is worth seeing on the big screen because the special effects are eye-boggling! Blunt adds an icy presence to an already toxic environment that could barely contain the evil that is Theron. The story is average, a variation of the many twisted fairy tales that seem to proliferate in a cinematic landscape that is more a desert than a wellspring of sparkling originality. Visually beautiful with all kinds of now-typical fantasy action, The Huntsman is that pretty but dumb date we all wanted, but knew wouldn't be good for very long. I enjoyed it for what it was, and truly the visual effects are stunning and creative, but the plot was paper-thin (even as the writers tried to contrive a complicated story by pushing a lot of plot lines in quick sequence). I is pretty but dumb, not just pretty dumb. I don't see adding the 3D Blu-ray to my collection even if the price drops through the floor.
[V4.5-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC - D-Box.


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