Snow White And The Hunstman is the second live action adaptation of the fairytale, released in the last couple of months. Havent watched the first one and I dont intend to either, specially after all I’ve heard and read about it. Cut to the chase, the deliciously edited trailer made me anticipate the Huntsman version and hence caught it at the first opportunity (thursday night).

It is neither awards material nor a cringe worthy half baked attempt, but given the odds, it manages to tick pretty much all the boxes that an entertainer is expected of, along its way. Taut screenplay, well imagined art direction of thoughtful imageries, all adequately supported by a convincing cast led brilliantly by uber evil queen Ravenna, played by Charlize Theron. Such is her prowess in this loathe inducing enactment that one would grimace at the very  possibility of coming face to face  with this ghastly witch and her self absorbed twisted mind. Chris Hemsworth plays the title role with restrained exuberance ensuring his chiseled chest and arms are covered in muddy tatters throughout its runtime, leaving much of his histrionics stuck to his able facial expressions and grunts as he goes about breaking bones and skulls. Which brings us to Kristen Stewart who lets out the damsel in distress act with a whiff of nonchalance and if I may add, very convincingly so. It is the final act that involves her wielding spears and  shields which calls for that extra bit of conviction and I personally felt a tad short changed. The altercation with her nemesis which makes up better part of the climax, although not a David & Goliath proportion, does paint an odd picture when physical attributes are compared. Charlize almost dwarfs the Twilight maiden not just in size but her towering inferno of rage and desperate squeals.

There would be a few who would have liked another leading lady to play Snow White and I see why they cannot be blamed for their opinion. There are a few instances of close up shots where Kristen falls short of what the situation demanded. I’ll make no comparisons with her previous work because I haven’t seen many of them, apart from her role of a diabetic child to Jodie Foster in Panic Room. But as I mentioned before She was consistently brilliant in the first three acts of the narration.

A viewers affiliation to fairytales in general and the story in particular notwithstanding, its a movie I’d recommend to anyone who is looking for a fun ride. If there is a naysayer you ought to pay heed to, its the one who doesn’t appreciate tempering of the original written material. I am not one of them and I enjoyed “Snow White And The Huntsman”  and its rather refreshing adaptation from start to finish. Watch this one for Charlize Theron and her palpable “Queen Ravenna”, that should stay with you long after the images fade away and credits roll.

7/10

P.S. Don’t miss the awesome soundtrack at the end credits. High 5′s to Florence & The Machine for their “Breath Of Life”. A deserving Grammy nom, earlier in the year.

Here’s the song and the official video. Enjoy