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If you liked “ Frozen ” but wish it had been angrier, “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” is for you.

It’s a tale of two royal sisters, one of whom discovers in a fit of rage that she has the ability to shoot ice from her fingertips—so she exiles herself to a faraway land in the mountains, where she creates her own kingdom and builds her own army. She even wears decadent gowns in various shades of pale blue and pulls her hair back in elaborate braids.

Seriously. This is what “Winter’s War” is about.

But before you can say “let it go,” this sorta-prequel, sorta-sequel, sorta-something-in-between to 2012’s “ Snow White and the Huntsman ” trots out several other subplots, all of which combine to make a messy (and less-than-magical) narrative.

The original film worked as a dark take on the familiar “Snow White” fable, with breathtakingly beautiful, brutal imagery and a richly villainous turn from Charlize Theron as the wicked queen. It was thrilling yet empty, but at least it had focus and kept you engaged. This time, first-time feature director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan (taking over for Rupert Sanders ) has trouble juggling all the scattered storylines in Evan Spiliotopoulos and Craig Mazin ’s script.

Is “Winter’s War” about a rivalry between two sisters, the dastardly Ravenna (Theron) and the devastated Freya ( Emily Blunt )? Is it about the forbidden love between Freya’s two top soldiers, huntsman Eric ( Chris Hemsworth ) and hell-raiser Sara ( Jessica Chastain )? Is it about Snow White, who’s mentioned with great reverence but is seen only a couple times in the briefest, vaguest of glimpses? (Unlike Theron and Hemsworth, Kristen Stewart does not return for part two, despite having been the title character in part one. Even my six-year-old kid thought that seemed weird.) Or is it about the squabbling, digitally-rendered dwarfs ( Nick Frost and Rob Brydon ) who serve as comic relief?  

The only cohesive force is a pervasive sense of self-serious dreariness. With the exception of a brief visit to a forest full of fairy sprites and vibrantly-hued creatures, “Winter’s War” is as monotonously somber as the title would suggest.

It begins with infanticide and moves on to the kidnapping and training of child soldiers (they’re not just for young adult adaptations anymore!) to serve as the miserable Freya’s army as she seeks revenge from high atop the snow-covered hills. Freya has made it clear that love is a no-no, but her two fiercest weapons, Eric and Sara, have dared to fall for each other—and so she destroys their chances of happiness, too. Motivations aren’t terribly complicated here, but the omnipresent voiceover from Liam Neeson spells everything out for us nonetheless.

Seven years later (and timeline-wise, after the events of “Snow White and the Huntsman,” for those of you playing at home), Ravenna may or may not be dead. But the mirror that emboldened her has gone missing, and everyone’s looking for it, because it’s powerful. Or something. It is the shiny, golden McGuffin, and it can either bring people together or tear them apart.

As for its effect on Hemsworth and Chastain’s characters, it could go either way—but then again, it’s tough to care. Individually appealing as they are, these two actors have zero chemistry with each other. Their love scenes (including one which just happens to take place in the only hot tub in this entire frozen land) are actively uncomfortable to watch. Their flirty banter isn’t much better, and only in part because they’re speaking in inconsistent Scottish accents. Hemsworth is borderline unintelligible much of the time, and not in an intentionally funny, Brad-Pitt-in-“ Snatch ” kind of way; Chastain’s brogue flits in and out. And luminous and versatile as Chastain is, playing the warrior princess isn’t her strong suit.

The other major stars here—Theron and Blunt—bring a sporadically enjoyable campiness to the proceedings as dueling queens. Blunt can be quite unnerving as the shattered Freya, and she does her best to infuse depth to the character that doesn’t exist on the page. Meanwhile, Theron is vamping it up to such an extent, it’s as if she’s in an entirely different movie—one with some life to it that you’d actually want to see.

Nicolas-Troyan has a visual effects background (including an Oscar nomination for his work on “Snow White and the Huntsman”) so the major set pieces can be striking at times, especially the moments involving the mirror itself in all its hypnotic allure. But much of the action sadly remains dull and emotionally detached—one-note, repetitive brawls with axes/sticks/swords/etc.

The costumes are mind-bogglingly beautiful, though—the work of the great Colleen Atwood , 11-time Oscar nominee and three-time winner (for “ Chicago ,” “ Memoirs of a Geisha ” and “ Alice in Wonderland ”) who also designed the clothes for the original “Huntsman.” The luxuriously appointed gowns range from gold-and-black, bird-fetish chic for the statuesque Theron to crisp and crystalline grays and blues for Blunt—although it’s clear that the cold never bothered her anyway.

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series "Ebert Presents At the Movies" opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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Film credits.

The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016)

Rated PG-13

114 minutes

Chris Hemsworth as The Huntsman

Charlize Theron as Ravenna

Jessica Chastain as Sara

Emily Blunt as Queen Freya

Nick Frost as Nion

Rob Brydon as Gryff

Sheridan Smith as Mrs. Bromwyn

Alexandra Roach as Doreena

Sope Dirisu as Tull

Sam Hazeldine as Leifr

Sam Claflin as William

Sophie Cookson as Pippa

Liam Neeson as Narrator

• Cedric Nicolas-Troyan

Writer (characters)

• Evan Daugherty
• Evan Spiliotopoulos
• Craig Mazin

Cinematographer

• Phedon Papamichael
• Conrad Buff IV
• James Newton Howard

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‘the huntsman: winter’s war’: film review.

Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron are back for the follow-up to 2012's 'Snow White and the Huntsman,' joined by Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain but sans Kristen Stewart.

By Leslie Felperin

Leslie Felperin

Contributing Film Critic

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In many respects,  The Huntsman: Winter’s War, producer Joe Roth ’s follow-up to 2012’s  Snow White and the Huntsman , is a slicker, more accessible, possibly more commercial film than its predecessor. And yet there’s something ineffably dispiriting about it. Derided before anyone saw a still as the sequel-prequel-whatever that nobody really wanted, it’s passably entertaining, and like the last one breathtakingly crafted, especially Colleen Atwood ’s microscopically detailed costumes. But it still carries the sulfuric whiff of a changeling creature, a serviceable vehicle bolted together from remnants, if you can say that of an expensive package that includes Chris Hemsworth , Charlize Theron , Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain in its cast.  

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Although literally brighter and more sunlit than Snow White, the absence of key talents casts shadows over its surface. Snow White ’s original director Rupert Sanders, currently filming Ghost in the Shell , was replaced by writer-director Frank Darabont ( The Walking Dead ). Creative differences saw off the latter, and so the director credit now goes to Cedric Nicolas-Troyan (he was the VFX supervisor on Snow White and the Huntsman  and second-unit director on Maleficent ).

Release date: Apr 22, 2016

Obviously, the most palpable absence is that of Kristen Stewart’s Snow White, gone probably not because of her much-hyped extramarital affair with Sanders but because the actor would have been perhaps too expensive for this installment, according to some sources . It’s not hard to figure out how Universal and Roth did the math to work out they didn’t need Stewart, especially now that Hemsworth , barely a blip on the tracking data in 2012, is such a huge deal on the back of his work in the Marvel universe.

Whichever way you add it up, it’s not just a significant loss, but an ironic one: Isn’t part of the appeal of fairy tale rejigs like Snow White and the Huntsman, Maleficent, Into the Woods , the TV series Once Upon a Time and, going back to a cornerstone work, Angela Carter’s short stories in The Blood Chamber that they offer a feminist or at least female-centric twist on traditional (and often traditionally misogynistic) material? So in 2016, after all the debates about disparate pay, the Bechdel test, the paucity of female filmmakers and female lead characters in mainstream filmmaking, # AskHerMore and all the rest, isn’t it kind of depressing that one of the few big-budget franchises of the last five years to feature a woman protagonist has literally written her out of her own eponymous story in order to make some guy the star of the show? It’s as if Lionsgate and Co. had decided to get rid of Katniss after the first The Hunger Games movie in order to focus on Liam Hemsworth’s Gale instead because Jennifer Lawrence was too expensive.

The excision must have not sat right with someone on the team because as if to “right” the gender imbalance and make up for the absence of Snow White herself, The Huntsman: Winter’s War  borrows from the Disney/ Once Upon a Time playbook of mix-and-match storytelling to introduce a character from a completely different fairy tale: the Ice Queen, that iconic figure from Frozen … sorry, Hans Christian Andersen.

It turns out that Ravenna , the evil queen played by Theron in Snow White , had a sister named Freya (Emily Blunt) as well as a brother whose existence wasn’t mentioned in the first film. In the extended prequel portion of the story, we learn how originally gentle Freya, along for the ride while Ravenna rehearsed her black widow routine on previous kings, got her magic frosty freak on after her nobleman lover (Robert Wilfort ) seemingly burnt their infant daughter alive in order to get out of marrying her.

Having developed post-traumatic ice-generating power, Freya sets herself up in a kingdom in the north, determined to use her army of abducted child soldiers to wipe out romantic love everywhere. Two of her early conscripts are Scots-accented Eric (Conrad Khan, later  Hemsworth ) and Sara ( Niamh Walter who, like Khan to Hemsworth , is exceptionally well cast or made up to look like someone who would grow up to be Jessica Chastain ). Despite the brutal conditions of Freya’s army, called the Huntsmen, the two fall in love. However, when their passion for one another is discovered, Freya separates them with a wall of enchanted ice through which Eric sees Sara being killed by their friend and fellow soldier Tull ( Sope Dirisu ) — hence Eric’s identification of himself as a widower in the first film.

Seven years pass, according to the subtitles and, by implication, in that time all the events of the previous movie happen. In The Huntsman ’s present, Snow White (only her back is seen), now married to William (a briefly returning Sam Claflin ), is disturbed by the malign influence of Ravenna’s magic golden mirror around the castle. It falls into the hands of CGI goblins (pleasingly gorilla-like) and Eric is dispatched to retrieve and destroy it. Assisting him in this endeavor will be Nion (Nick Frost), one of the seven-to-eight dwarves met in the earlier installment, and Gryff (Rob Brydon ), who supposedly are brothers even though they have completely different regional British accents.

Gender parity is achieved when Eric meets someone from his past and the troupe is joined by Mrs. Bromwyn (Sheridan Smith) and Doreena (Alexandra Roach), two female dwarves whose snappy, caustic banter with Nion and Gryff provides credibly entertaining comic relief, thanks especially to Smith and Brydon’s piquant timing and easy chemistry with each other.

They, at least, look like they’re having a bit of a laugh, but that doesn’t feel like it’s the case for the actors playing the non-dwarf characters. Hemsworth and  Chastain — who, incidentally, have absolutely zero chemistry as a couple — both seem defeated and miserable, and don’t even get to have the fun Theron and Blunt enjoy goggling their eyes while looking villainous at various points throughout.

Plus, the latter two get to model some of the very best creations to come out of Colleen Atwood’s atelier, proper exhibition-worthy works of art that are the stuff of costume fans’ wildest dreams. Like her work for the many Tim Burton films she has costumed for, as well as the film musicals for Rob Marshall ( Chicago , Nine , Into the Woods ), these gowns are insanely detailed and 4K-ready down to the tiniest sequin and fake headdress feather, set off beautifully by Luca Vannella’s fittingly intricate make-up and hair designs (which will in themselves launch a thousand how-to YouTube clips on braidwork ).  

When the knives are drawn at the end, and CGI lets rip with the climactic destruction, it’s like a cross between Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale and RuPaul’s Drag Race. But surely something has gone very wrong with a film when viewers feels more invested in the costumes than the characters.

Production companies: A Universal Pictures presentation in association with Perfect World Pictures of a Roth Films production Cast: Chris Hemsworth , Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt, Nick Frost, Sam Claflin , Rob Brydon , Jessica Chastain , Sheridan Smith, Alexandra Roach, Sope Dirisu Director: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan Screenwriters: Evan Spiliotopoulos , Craig Mazin , based on characters created by Evan Daugherty Producer: Joe Roth Executive producers: Sarah Bradshaw, Palak Patel Director of photography: Phedon Papamichael Production designer: Dominic Watkins Costume designer: Colleen Atwood Hair and makeup designer: Luca Vannella Editor: Conrad Buff Music: James Newton Howard Visual effects supervisor: Paul Lambert Casting: Lucy Bevan Rated PG-13, 117 minutes

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Review: ‘The Huntsman: Winter’s War’ is a fairy tale in search of a tale to tell

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One trick of great fantasy storytelling is establishing the rules of the world — in “The Lord of the Rings,” hobbits fear adventure; in “Harry Potter,” Muggles can’t perform magic; in “Avatar,” humans can’t breathe on Pandora. From those limitations come sympathetic characters and a story with a real sense of peril.

There are no discernible rules in the world of “The Huntsman: Winter’s War,” a dreadful sequel to 2012’s darkly appealing “Snow White and the Huntsman.” In the pale update, nearly every major character dies and comes back to life at least once and a convoluted narrative yields not a single, palpable moment of drama.

Not even the considerable charm of Chris Hemsworth, who plays the seemingly immortal, ax-wielding title hero, or Emily Blunt, as an ice queen with head-scratching motives, can save this dull mash-up of fantasy genre cliches, which wastes its A-list actors, stunning costumes and computer-generated artistry on a fatuous story with zero stakes.

The 2012 film, directed by Rupert Sanders, mostly succeeded as a visually rich retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, with Kristen Stewart playing Snow White as a brave warrior princess and Charlize Theron delivering a deliciously over-the-top evil Queen Ravenna.

The new movie, written by Craig Mazin and Evan Spiliotopoulos and directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, leaves out Stewart’s role. Really, it’s a Snow White movie without Snow White — can you imagine Iron Man putting up with that?

Set both before and after the events of the first film, “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” stars Blunt and Theron as Freya and Ravenna, a pair of rivalrous royal sisters — think “Frozen’s” Anna and Elsa with better eye makeup and worse attitudes. Ravenna mostly stares in the mirror and makes malevolent declarations. Freya, who starts the film in love and quickly suffers a trauma, begins shooting ice out of her hands, wearing metallic headpieces and training an army of child soldiers.

Hemsworth’s Eric and Jessica Chastain’s Sara emerge as the most talented fighters in Freya’s army. Speaking in muddled Scottish accents and wearing cute leather hunting outfits (perhaps they’re hunting for the plot?), Eric and Sara fall in love and try, unsuccessfully, to escape Freya’s icy grasp.

Over the next hour, Hemsworth swashbuckles through six or seven plot reversals and multiple inscrutable fight scenes. He is joined by some bickering dwarves, Nion (Nick Frost) and Gryff (Rob Brydon), and becomes determined to capture Ravenna’s magic mirror. Wait, is Ravenna dead? Who’s alive? Who knows? Who cares? It’s raining and cellos are playing so something bad must be happening.

Though the cast are all pros who do their darndest to deliver the bewilderingly bad dialogue with conviction, even an Oscar winner like Theron can’t sell lines like, “A humble pawn can bring down kingdoms.”

Nicolas-Troyan, who had been the visual effects supervisor on “Snow White and the Huntsman,” is making his directorial debut here, and there are moments that help explain how he got the job. When Eric and his merry band end up in a computer-generated forest, it’s a gorgeous, magical place, where giant, moss-covered tortoises roam and butterflies flutter. If only we could linger here on the mossy forest floor and forget the dizzying subplots swirling in our heads.

Costume designer Colleen Atwood, who earned her 10th Oscar nomination for her work on the previous “Huntsman” film, delivers the drama the story lacks, this time via exquisite metallic gowns and headpieces. She drapes Theron in a kind of molten gold dress and Blunt in multiple ice crystal-inspired frocks.

At one point, when the two sisters appear on-screen talking conspiratorially in their glittering garments, I fantasized about what the actresses might have whispered to each other between takes: “Do you have any idea what’s happening right now?”

“No. Did you read this script before you agreed to it?”

“No. But the good news is, we look fabulous.”

[email protected]

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‘The Huntsman: Winter’s War’

Rated: PG-13, for fantasy action violence and some sensuality

Running time: 2 hours, 3 minutes

Playing: In general release

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Review: ‘The Huntsman: Winter’s War’ Starring Chris Hemsworth, Jessica Chastain, Emily Blunt & Charlize Theron

Oliver lyttelton.

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When the time comes for the history of Hollywood in the 21st century to be written, there may be a surprising amount of space devoted to “ The Huntsman: Winter’s War .” Few films better sum up this desperately franchise-thirsty era of studio moviemaking better. It’s the followup to a gritty, big-budget reboot “ Show White And The Huntsman ,” willed into existence by executives desperate for something that would let them compete with their universe building, tentpole rivals, despite 1) the original film’s female lead, Kristen Stewart , not returning, and 2) the original film underperforming theatrically and 3) no one liking the original film in the first place.

And yet here we are, a little under four years on, with “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” helmed by  Cedric Nicolas-Troyan , visual-effects supervisor on the first film, taking over from Rupert Sanders , with Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron reprising their roles, original Snow White found in some archive footage, and two acclaimed actresses, Jessica Chastain and Emily Blunt , joining in. The sequel (or more accurately, prequel/sequel) is, pleasingly, more entertaining than its predecessor, but at the same time it doesn’t quite go so far as to provide a reason why it should exist at all.

Once upon a slightly earlier time, the evil Queen Ravenna (Theron) had a sister, the seemingly more mildly-tempered, less batshit Freya (Blunt). Freya had a baby, but tragically, the baby was seemingly burned to death by her lover ( Colin Morgan ), causing her to manifest some icy magical powers. She retreats to the North where she establishes her own kingdom, a frosty training ground for her well-trained child soldiers that she nicknames her Huntsman, including young orphans Eric (Hemsworth) and Sarah (Chastain). Moreover, she’s banned love, claiming she’s the living proof that it can’t conquer all.

But when they grow up, Eric and Sarah fall in love, only for the queen to discover and seemingly kill the latter, while banishing him. A jump in time through the plot of “Snow White & The Huntsman” finds the Magic Mirror has been stolen, and Snow White’s husband ( Sam Claflin ) tasks Eric, plus returning dwarf Nion ( Nick Frost ), and his half-brother Gryff ( Rob Brydon ), with returning it, a job that brings them into the path of more than one figure from the Huntsman’s past.

It’s an odd structure for a film like this, with essentially a half-hour prologue leading into an actual story. But for a while, it feels like this particular act of universe expansion might be worthwhile, mostly thanks to Blunt’s performance. The temptation would have been for the actress to come and match Theron’s scenery-chewing (which the latter doubles down on in her small handful of scenes here), but Blunt, as ever, makes fascinating choices and finds a way to give the film’s “ Frozen ” meets “ Game Of Thrones ” narrative (in the early stages) an emotional punch.

The film shifts gears considerably in its second act, attempting to be a sort of fairytale “ Romancing The Stone ,” with a deliberately lighter tone intended to let Hemsworth and Chastain banter, while adding further attempted LOLs from the dwarf sidekicks. Again, there’s fitfully some good stuff here: Brydon is good value, essentially playing himself (or at least the version of himself in “ The Trip ”) in dwarf-samurai form and somehow making that work, while British TV star Sheridan Smith damn near walks away with the movie as lady-dwarf Mrs. Bromwyn.

The narrative drive is welcome too, the clear pursuit of a MacGuffin mirror proving more engaging than going over the familiar fairy tale beats of the previous film. And yet despite some fitfully interesting spots, it can’t take off, because its leads feel mismatched. Obviously, they’ve been proven to be excellent elsewhere: Thor doesn’t work as a character without Hemsworth walking the line of sincere heroism and fish out of water buffoonery, and he showed real dramatic chops in “ Rush ,” while Chastain is great in basically everything. But here, they’re both struggling uphill against accents they’re palpably not comfortable with, displaying zero chemistry, and frankly appearing to be in different films. Hemsworth attempts to give a lightness of touch that sometimes feels incongruous with the character, while Chastain goes darker and more intense in a way that can sink the gags.

The third act is a different film again, and unfortunately not a good one: ending not with a bang but with some CGI effects that suggest that no one learned anything from the lousy finale of the last film, it hammers home that there’s something wholly perfunctory about the whole affair. Scenes take place, but with the bare minimum of interest or engagement, as if everybody’s rushing to get the credits all of a sudden.

There’s very little in “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” itself that is actively bad. Compared to some of its blockbuster rivals, it’s reasonably watchable, never offensive, and mostly coherent. It does what it needs to do, namely “be another movie with the word huntsman in the title.” But it also feels like a prime example of so much of what’s so bad about studio movies today: pursuing franchises at the expense of all else (down to a cravenly sequel-chasing last line), wasting good talent on material that’s unworthy of them, falling back on CGI rather than story, filmmaking driven by committee rather than vision. And as such, despite the fitful moments of charm or craft, it’s an impossible movie to root for. [C-]

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Film Review: ‘The Huntsman: Winter’s War’

The added star power of Jessica Chastain and Emily Blunt isn't enough to enliven this dour prequel-cum-sequel to 'Snow White and the Huntsman.'

By Guy Lodge

Film Critic

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Spare a thought for Snow White: So casually has she been written out of “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” that even Queen Ravenna’s all-knowing mirror, when called upon to name the fairest of them all, omits her as a contender. Vague excuses are made for her absence from a film that awkwardly positions itself as both prequel and sequel to the Goth-lite derring-do of 2012’s “Snow White and the Huntsman,” though perhaps Snow skimmed Evan Spiliotopoulos and Craig Mazin’s perfunctory script and reasonably decided she couldn’t be bothered. In her (and Kristen Stewart’s) place, a Katniss Everdeen-styled Jessica Chastain steps into the breach, fighting for good alongside Chris Hemsworth ‘s eponymous hero — this time against two wicked-queen combatants in Charlize Theron and Emily Blunt , whose glittery sisterly feud would have made for an adequate spinoff vehicle on its own. Even their doubled-up diva-tude, however, can’t ignite a rhythmically flat, seemingly committee-helmed franchise outing that never decides on its dramatic center.

“There is another story — one you have not yet seen,” a po-faced (and excessively employed) narrator informs viewers at the outset of “The Huntsman: Winter’s War.” He’s speaking somewhat optimistically, it turns out, since Spiliotopoulos and Mazin’s hastily cobbled-together mythos cribs liberally from existing fairy-tale lore, with a not-inconsiderable side scoop of Disney’s ubiquitous smash “Frozen.” What the narrator doesn’t tell us is precisely which story he’s referring to: At least two are jostling for space here, each one stepping conspicuously around the events of the previous film, though not maintaining complete continuity with it. (The intermediate backstory of Chastain’s virtuous warrior Sara, for example, appears to shift at least once in the course of the new pic’s screenplay alone.)

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“The Huntsman’s” opening act, chronologically preceding the timeline of “Snow White” by a couple of decades, is dedicated to matters of queenly corruption, reintroducing Theron’s vixenish Ravenna as she adds another royal scalp to her growing list of kills, via a black magic-abetted chess match. She assumes power as her pure-hearted younger sister, Freya (Blunt), looks on; professing to have no political or supernatural aspirations, Freya instead dreams of courtly bliss with the young Duke (Colin Morgan) whose child she is to bear. When her plan is foiled in grisly fashion, however, her witchy powers — chiefly, a touch of frost markedly similar to Queen Elsa’s — belatedly emerge. She defects to her own wintry Ice Queendom, fostering her own army and banning human affection from her domain: “Love is nothing more than a fairy tale,” she hisses, coolly oblivious to her own generic surroundings.

Among the child soldiers she rears are prodigious huntspeople Eric and Sara, who eventually take the strapping, mutually amorous forms of Hemsworth and Chastain. Their romance prompts an arctic intervention from Freya; Eric is banished, believing Sara dead. It’s here that the tale of “Snow White and the Huntsman” slots in in its entirety, necessitating an ungainly timeline leap of seven years: War is indistinctly looming, reigning monarch Snow White is indistinctly indisposed, and the vanquished Ravenna’s missing mirror is now a vital quarry sought by Snow White’s and Freya’s palaces alike. Huntsman Eric is enlisted to retrieve it for the former, as faces from the past are resurrected along the way.

It’s a straightforward enough quest, though the doom-laden stakes attached to it aren’t most urgently felt. As if anticipating auds’ lack of investment in Eric’s rather colorless presence, much of his ostensible screen time is given over to the “Lord of the Rings”-aping comic relief of sidekick dwarves Nion (Nick Frost, returning from the previous film) and Gryff (Rob Brydon, providing his patented Welsh-neurotic shtick). It’s a dynamic that itself doesn’t quite click until Sheridan Smith, as assertive she-dwarf Bromwyn, arrives on the scene. Regrettably dispensable to the larger narrative, Smith (whose firecracker skills are already familiar to British TV auds) nonetheless proves the liveliest element in these dour proceedings. She certainly has more voluble chemistry with Hemsworth than a muted, uncertainly Scots-accented Chastain — formidable in medieval archery chic, but otherwise (not unlike Stewart before her) finding little to grapple with in a character strictly shaped with the Hollywood screenwriter’s favored tough-cookie cutter. The silly-stern sportsmanship she brought to last year’s “Crimson Peak” would have been most welcome here.

Also opting not to camp things up — at least minimally so, relative to Theron’s gilded bitchery, is Blunt, who maintains a shrill, brittle sense of vulnerability in Freya even as she crosses over to the dark side, though the film is considerably less interested in such character detailing than in giving her the glitziest brand of digital sorcery money can buy. No prizes for guessing that first-time feature helmer Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, taking the reins from Rupert Sanders after Frank Darabont’s abortive involvement, was the Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor on “Snow White and the Huntsman”: Every frame here is expensively embellished with racing icicle formations, arbitrary light beams or glistening synthetic sprites, though he seems to have a less decisive hold on the film’s lurching to-and-fro storytelling.

If, then, the pic seems to rush through the murkier adventures of the Huntsman to hasten a palace-set finale that may as well be subtitled “Slay, Queen,” it’s because the posher of its twin story arcs simply affords more fabulous spectacle — in the effects department, certainly, but also in the form of Colleen Atwood’s unapologetically over-designed royal gowns, veritably cantilevered constructions of metal, feathers and flesh. (Even Hemsworth’s fetching leather work garb has taken on a slightly impractical showiness; it’s barely a few rips away from fetish gear.)

The sheer abundance of on-screen ornamentation isn’t quite enough to make “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” a beautiful film — in contrast to the Indian-ink-and-gold contrasts of Greig Fraser’s work on its predecessor, there’s a milky glare to Phedon Papamichael’s lensing that isn’t quite seductive. Still, it’s one that has been exhaustively designed by many hands — which only further shows up its inelegant patchwork in the writing department. “While fairy tales do come true, none ever truly ends,” that same tireless narrator intones before the credits roll — inevitably threatening a further contortion of this heavily stretched story material, but inadvertently copping to the shapelessness of what we’ve just seen.

Reviewed at Vue West End, London, March 30, 2016. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 113 MIN.

• Production: A Universal release and presentation of a Roth Films production in association with Perfect World Pictures. Produced by Joe Roth. Executive producers, Sarah Bradshaw, Palak Patel.
• Crew: Directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan. Screenplay, Evan Spiliotopoulos, Craig Mazin, based on characters created by Evan Daugherty. Camera (color, widescreen), Phedon Papamichael; editor, Conrad Buff; music, James Newton Howard; production designer, Dominic Watkins; art director, Frank Walsh; set decorator, Dominic Capon; costume designer, Colleen Atwood; sound (Dolby Digital), Chris Munro; re-recording mixers, Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montano; visual effects supervisor, Paul Lambert; visual effects, Double Negative, Pixomondo, Digital Domain, the Mill; stunt coordinator, Ben Cooke; associate producer, Lynda Ellenshaw Thompson; assistant director, K.C. Colwell; second unit director, Simon Crane; second unit camera, Igor Meglic; casting, Lucy Bevan.
• With: Chris Hemsworth, Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain, Charlize Theron, Sheridan Smith, Rob Brydon, Nick Frost, Alexandra Roach, Sam Claflin, Sophie Cookson, Niamh Walton, Conrad Khan, Sope Dirisu, Sam Hazeldine, Colin Morgan.

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• DVD & Streaming

The Huntsman: Winter’s War

• Action/Adventure , Drama , Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Content Caution

In Theaters

• April 22, 2016
• Chris Hemsworth as Eric/The Huntsman; Charlize Theron as Ravenna; Jessica Chastain as Sara; Sheridan Smith as Mrs. Bromwyn; Nick Frost as Nion; Alexandra Roach as Doreena

Home Release Date

• August 23, 2016
• Cedric Nicolas-Troyan

Distributor

• Universal Pictures

Movie Review

In Snow White and the Huntsman , the two titular fairy tale types join forces to best that wicked Queen Ravenna and her magically imbued golden mirror.

But don’t you want to know how Eric became the skilled, valiant and just slightly heartbroken huntsman that he is?

OK, you may not have actually been wondering about that, but it’s a story to be told … and so Hollywood will try to tell it. And since Snow White’s nowhere to be found in this one, it all ties back, in a way, to the wicked Ravenna. That beautiful and deadly queen had been marrying and knocking off kings to gain riches and land for some time, of course. But it was actually her sister, Freya, who was most to be feared.

After losing her infant daughter through a terrible betrayal, Freya was left with a frozen shard of a heart, they say. And she gained icy powers strong enough to freeze the world solid.

You’re suddenly thinking about Elsa and Anna, aren’t you? Admit it! But don’t expect some fabulous Frozen story of two loving sisters to emerge here. After Freya was betrayed, she moved to the North, created a bitterly cold kingdom of her own and began stealing away children from every village and town in the land.

She was saving them, of course! In her own mind, at least—in her own twisted, demented heart. What the Ice Queen was really doing was growing and training them up to be an army of huntsmen who would help her rule the world. These skilled warriors would attack neighboring kingdoms and bring the spoils back to her.

You may now be concluding that Ravenna’s love-’em-and-kill-’em method of gaining kingdoms was simpler and less messy than her sister’s. And even if you’re not, I’m telling you to. But the fact is, Freya was making a point. She is absolutely cold to love, you see. And she’d rather freeze out every neighboring handsome king than look at him.

That’s why she got so ticked off when her most brave and skilled huntsman, Eric, fell in love with a female huntsman named Sara. The Ice Queen would soon deal with that foolishness!

See how it’s all starting to tie together? Eric and his secret love? Freya and her cold anguish? Ravenna and her magic mirror?

You’re not seeing it? Turn the glass a tad to the left. No?

All right. Never mind. Let’s just start over. There are these two wicked and powerful sisters …

Positive Elements

The real-life lessons in this dark fairy tale are sparse, but the film lightly suggests that being loving and loyal are solid attributes. And that being brave and self-sacrificial isn’t so bad either.

Spiritual Elements

This is a world of unexplained magic. Both Ravenna and Freya have powers that grew out of personal tragedy in their lives. And the magic mirror is a great source of mysterious might as well. Ravenna states that when she was killed (in the Snow White and the Huntsman movie), her spirit left her body and took up residence within the mirror itself. While talking of bad choices and forgiveness with Sara, Eric says that “someone else” is left to judge their actions.

Sexual Content

Eric and Sara kiss and embrace while naked (they’re seen from the shoulders up) in a hot springs and while partially clothed in the midst of having sex. The latter scene shows guy and gal stripping off tops (giving the camera a side view of Sara’s breast).

Sara typically wears a leather outfit that accentuates her curves. Ravenna and Freya prefer low-cut dresses. One very buxom innkeeper shows quite a lot of cleavage.

A female dwarf tosses around winking quips about dwarven sexuality. A pair of male dwarves speak of the amount of alcohol needed to bed a female dwarf. And Sara shares a bit of sexual innuendo as well. Freya becomes pregnant and gives birth out of wedlock.

Violent Content

Ravenna magically kills her husband while playing a game of chess, his blood slowly seeping onto the board. Freya’s child is burned to death (offscreen) in her crib. We see several scenes of slashing and impaling battle between Freya’s armies and their foes. Battlefields are left littered with corpses pierced by arrows and abandoned blades. Men and dwarves are frozen solid and magically impaled with spear-like tendrils.

In up-close pummeling struggles between Eric and several groups of enemies we hear bones break. In fact, he finishes a battle with a fierce and roaring goblin by somersaulting over the beast, grabbing its horns and viciously snapping its neck. During a number of fights, both Eric and Sara are left scraped and bloodied. We see that Sara’s back is covered with scars. We watch as she’s stabbed from behind with an assassin’s blade. Eric is shot in the chest with an arrow. Children are hit with blunt weapons, shoved about and physically tormented. Goblins get engulfed in blue flames.

Crude or Profane Language

One use each of “b–ch” and “a–.” Those interjections are joined by a variety of crude English phrases, including “b-gger me,” “bloody h—,” “p— off,” “w-nker” and “b-llocks.” God’s name is misused.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Eric and his dwarf companions drink ale at an inn. A dwarf drinks booze from a flask.

Here we have another Hollywood prequel-slash-sequel. Or perhaps an action-slash-adventure romantic fantasy prequel-slash-side-story-slash-sequel is the most accurate description. The point is that, besides all the slashing violence, The Huntsman: Winter’s War isn’t all that sure what it is, or what it even wants be.

The film’s story sprouts out of its predecessor’s Snow White (ish) roots like an accidentally dropped magic bean. It buds into several disjointed tales without really being sure of who’s story it’s telling. And by the time it gives blossom to an infant’s horrible and grisly murder, stabbing and hacking magical battles, slavering beasties, bits of sexy seduction and a number of dwarf-sex script giggles, well, the whole proceeding feels like it would rather cuddle up to Game of Thrones than sit and talk with Once Upon a Time .

Even the moral lessons and learning opportunities that you’d typically point kids to in a fable or fairy tale have pretty much been chained up somewhere in the Ice Queen’s dungeon, never to be seen onscreen.

It’s not that this visually picturesque but overgrown pic is outright rotten. It’s just that it’s unpruned , shall we say. Like that tangled fairy tale forest most sensible adventurers steer clear of in the dark of night.

After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.

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Movie Reviews

'huntsman' and 'tale of tales' put a modern spin on classic fairy tales.

David Edelstein

Critic David Edelstein reviews The Huntsman: Winter's War , a sequel to the 2012 movie, Snow White and the Huntsman , and Tale of Tales , an adaptation of a group of 17th century Italian folk stories.

DAVID BIANCULLI, HOST:

This is FRESH AIR. Two films opening this week are based on classic fairytales. The first film is "The Huntsman: Winter’s War," a sequel to the 2012 movie "Snow White And The Huntsman." The sequel stars Chris Hemsworth, Emily Blunt and Charlize Theron. The second fairytale film this week in limited release is "Tale Of Tales," an adaptation of a group of 17th century Italian folk stories. Film critic David Edelstein reviews both movies.

DAVID EDELSTEIN: Mirror mirror on the wall, what’s the dumbest fairytale movie of all? Well, one candidate is "The Huntsman: Winter’s War," a sequel no one wanted to "Snow White And The Huntsman," that’s like a mush of "Game Of Thrones" and Disney’s "Frozen" crammed with over-familiar computer-generated effects. Actually, it’s a sequel and a prequel. The long first chapter takes place before "Snow White And The Huntsman." And then the film jumps ahead to after Snow White has defeated Charlize Theron’s evil Queen Ravenna in battle.

It turns out that Ravenna has a sister, Freya, played by Emily Blunt, who, in the prequel part of the new film, loses a child and lover under horrific circumstances. She transforms into an Ice Queen with an ice castle in an iced-over landscape and an army trained to make war, not love. Literally, her fighters are forbidden to love because love, she declares, is a cruel illusion. This puts a damper on the smoldering passion of her best soldiers, Chris Hemsworth’s Eric the Huntsman and Jessica Chastain’s Sara.

I’d say Chastain has outgrown bland-ingenue roles like Sara, except when she was young, she’d never played them. And watching a resurrected Charlize Theron sneer and zap Chastain and rail against love, I thought, how can grown-ups not be embarrassed to say these lines? Yeah, we get it - love reigns supreme. The only reason to see "The Huntsman: Winter's War" is Emily Blunt, who gives the nearest thing I’ve seen in an American film to a kabuki performance - almost perfectly still, yet conveying with a tilt of her head the roiling emotions within.

The Italian-made "Tale Of Tales" is in English, but its visual language feels strange and bracingly unfamiliar. It has a rough, primordial magic. The film is an adaptation by director Matteo Garrone of three stories by Giambattista Basile, who, before his death in 1632 published moralistic tales of witches and ogres and imperiled princesses. Garrone opens with the plight of a king and queen, played by John C. Reilly and Salma Hayek, who can’t conceive a child. A gangly, cadaverous necromancer played by Franco Pistoni offers a solution.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "TALE OF TALES")

FRANCO PISTONI: (As Necromancer) You want a child? Every new life calls for a life to be lost. The equilibrium of the world must be maintained.

SALMA HAYEK: (As Queen of Longtrellis) I'm prepared to die to die in order to feel life grow inside me.

PISTONI: (As Necromancer) We are speaking of possibility, not certainty. Are you willing to accept the risk?

HAYEK: (As Queen of Longtrellis) What must we do?

PISTONI: (As Necromancer) Hunt down a sea monster, cut out its heart and have it cooked by a virgin. But she must be alone. When your majesty eats the heart, you will become pregnant instantly.

EDELSTEIN: The royal couple does what the necromancer asks, and what follows - the monster sleeping on the sea-bed, the giant pulsing heart, the instantaneous pregnancies of the queen and the virgin, a servant girl - is ghastly yet magnificent with a mythic power. The story resumes years later, when the boys from the queen and servant girl turn out to have the same pale skin and snowy-white hair and form a bond that drives the queen to separate them at any cost.

The other tales in "Tale Of Tales" - both with kings - involve the skin of something or someone. A ruler played by Toby Jones raises a flea until it’s human-sized, flays it after its death and offers his daughter’s hand to the man who guesses the origin of the pelt. Alas, that man is an ogre, who knows skins because he hunts animals and people, much to the princess’s horror. In the third story, a randy monarch played by Vincent Cassel hears the gorgeous singing voice of an old peasant woman who lives with her sister and thinking she’s young, woos her through the door. What comes next and finally, devastating - rejection, magical rejuvenation and then a tragic grisly self-mutilation.

"Tale Of Tales" is patchy and dissonant, and Garrone makes the stories harsher and more unsettling than the originals. But I don’t think his cruelty is gratuitous. As his 2008 film "Gomorrah" suggests, he’s by temperament a tragic ironist. And he understands the uses of classic fairytales, why they were conceived and passed on, before Hollywood came along and neutered them. They were and are a way of exploring the limits of physical desire, of going metaphorically and literally under the skin.

BIANCULLI: David Edelstein is film critic for New York magazine. Coming up, our rock critic Ken Tucker salutes the music and legacy of Prince, who died yesterday at age 57. This is FRESH AIR.

Copyright © 2016 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

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Screen Rant

The huntsman: winter's war review.

Every single piece of The Huntsman: Winter's War underwhelms - resulting in a strained prequel/sequel/spin-off fairytale with very little magic.

Every single piece of  The Huntsman: Winter's War  underwhelms - resulting in a strained prequel/sequel/spin-off fairytale with very little magic.

Long before Snow White rose to defeat the malevolent sorceress Ravenna (Charlize Theron), the Evil Queen moved unchecked from kingdom to kingdom, murdering rulers, amassing power and fortune, with her tender-hearted sister, Freya (Emily Blunt), in tow. Yet, when Freya's lover kills their newborn child, she discovers her own dormant magic ability - control of frost and ice. Armed with new powers, and scarred from her lover's treachery, the cryomancer heads North, carving out her own dominion - a place where love is a sin - and taking in the orphaned children of kingdoms she conquers, training the youth to fight as warriors in her personal army of "huntsmen".

When two of her best huntsmen, Eric (Chris Hemsworth) and Sara (Jessica Chastain), fall in love, Freya is forced to make an example out of the pair - unintentionally setting a heartbroken Eric onto a path that would eventually lead to Ravenna's downfall at the hands of Snow White years later. Unfortunately, Snow White's victory is short-lived, as a dangerous black magic haunts the benevolent ruler - and the new queen is forced to call on Eric for help once again, sending the Huntsman back into battle to face an old enemy - and the promise of closure to his past life.

Where moviegoers and critics were split on Rupert Sanders'  Snow White and the Huntsman (for a variety of reasons), the film managed to rack up a solid box office turn - cementing interest in a sequel, The Huntsman: Winter's War , at Universal Pictures. Unfortunately, behind-the-scenes controversy derailed production on a full-on sequel to the film - causing both the director and star Kristen Stewart to leave The Huntsman followup. In the coming months, the studio courted several well-respected filmmakers (including Frank Darabont) - eventually settling on Snow White and the Huntsman 's second-unit director, Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, to helm the project (marking his feature debut). The result is exactly what moviegoers likely expected: fleeting moments of fun that are undermined by clumsy filmmaking, cheesy performances, mundane effects, and bizarre retcons of Snow White and the Huntsman  events in order to salvage a franchise - rather than deliver a quality film set in the Huntsman 's world.

In spite of lengthy exposition (from Liam Neeson) that attempts to reframe the Snow White story around The Huntsman, Winter's War fails to build on, nor differentiate itself from, the prior franchise entry. Instead of a clean relaunch or continuation, Winter's War spends a significant amount of time justifying why The Huntsman isn't with Snow White (in spite of a life-giving "true love" kiss in the previous film) - endeavoring to both keep the door open for Stewart to return while also charting a course without her (in which the Huntsman and his own band of accomplices could return for a third entry). In juggling the future of this story, as a film series, Nicolas-Troyan is diverted through a wishy-washy set of hurdles that refuse to commit any main character to a definitive fate or personality - subsequently undermining any emotional impact the onscreen drama should deliver.

A bizarre patchwork of uninspired choices turn  Winter's War into an unappealing franchise product rather than coherent standalone film experience, as Nicolas-Troyan's installment falls short in providing the same visual flair, exciting action-fantasy spectacle, or stirring tale of self-empowerment that made Sanders' adaptation a surprise hit at the box office. Among some of the clumsier aspects, as the director attempted to tether Winter's War to its predecessor, is that Snow White is only shown from the back (making it more , not less, apparent that Stewart did not return), only one of the original seven dwarves, Nion (portrayed by Nick Frost) returns to assist Eric, and the filmmakers retcon the death of Ravenna for an underwhelming third-act twist (spoiled in the film's marketing), with absolutely no evidence in Snow White to support it. The worst part? Undoing or attempting to ignore the enormous shifts from Snow White to Winter's War ultimately undercuts the success of storytelling and characters that actually worked in the first chapter.

A convoluted backstory makes The Huntsman less interesting and less nuanced, an abrupt return from Ravenna twists the malevolent baddie into an immortal fairy tale villain (ignoring the character's previous origin and motivation: as a victim of abuse who eventually uses her power to control rather than be controlled), all while Snow White is casually name-dropped by other characters more times than she actually appears on screen (even once by a blink and you'll miss it cameo from rival  Snow White and the Huntsman  love-interest William, played by Sam Claflin).

Subverting prior characters would be forgivable if Winter's War introduced audiences to an even better band of new players; sadly, every single freshman  Winter's War character is a shell of a better hero or villain from the first movie - especially the sequel's Ice Queen. After numerous fan-favorite turns (in everything from  Looper to  Edge of Tomorrow to  Sicario ), Emily Blunt's talent is completely wasted on Freya. Where the character works at the most basic level, as a metaphor for isolation and depression in the aftermath of personal tragedy, and a point of juxtaposition for the core message of "love conquering all," that doesn't make Freya an interesting, affecting, or entertaining villain to follow in this story. Instead, Freya spends the majority of Winter's War in an emotionless haze, isolated mentally and physically  (rarely leaving the safety of her fortress) from the main story and its heroes - ultimately offering muted payoff when her personal ideology, and subsequent emotional wall, begin to crack.

Jessica Chastain is given slightly more as Sara, including a pair of slick fight scenes, but the character (and the performance) are slave to a melodramatic arc and half-baked twists - that, despite efforts to make Sara a strong female lead, ultimately confine the character in a no-nonsense warrior-princess outline (since Snow White isn't along for the ride this time). Sara is positioned to reflect both the power (Eric) and pain (Freyda) of love but the movie repositions the character so frequently that Sara's motivations and "true" feelings are hard to track (at best) and are more plot point than quality character development (at worst).

Even when Snow White and the Huntsman fell flat, the film was buoyed by Sanders' stylized fantasy riffs (as well as visual effects work), which made even mundane action look exciting in the moment, and a comparatively dark otherverse retelling of Snow White that twisted the damsel-in-distress fairytale protagonist into a battle-worn heroine capable of inspiring others (by full-on  fighting for her kingdom). As a result, Sanders established an intriguing fantasy world in which Universal Pictures could tell future stories - but, in attempting to build directly on the success of Snow White,  while refocusing on the titular Huntsman, the studio squandered any remaining potential. Ultimately, every single piece of The Huntsman: Winter's War underwhelms - resulting in a strained prequel/sequel/spin-off fairytale with very little magic.

The Huntsman: Winter's War runs 114 minutes and is Rated PG-13 for fantasy action violence and some sensuality. Now playing in theaters.

Let us know what you thought of the film in the comment section below.

Huntsman, The: Winter's War (United States, 2016)

When Snow White and the Huntsman was released four years ago, it successfully transformed one of movie-dom’s beloved fairy tales (known primarily through the Disney animated classic) into a fantasy adventure. The Huntsman: Winter’s War , a part-prequel/part-sequel, ventures deeper into Lord of the Rings/Harry Potter territory without considering one basic rule of epic fantasy: length is a prerequisite to properly tell a story of this sort. Character arcs and plot points need to unfold over the course of hours, not minutes.  There’s a reason Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy spanned nine hours and it took eight films to bring J.K. Rowling’s vision to the screen. By cramming far too much material into 114 minutes, The Huntsman: Winter’s War feels rushed and incomplete. It doesn’t help that the screenplay is at times awful, forcing accomplished actors to recite excruciatingly bad dialogue while maintaining a straight face.

To be fair, it’s not all bad. Many elements of an effective fantasy adventure are in place, although they’re hampered by questionable execution. Individual scenes are effectively choreographed but the need to rush robs them of their capacity to thrill and excite. There are also some odd casting choices. Due to the decision not to bring back Kristin Stewart, Snow White doesn’t appear (except in a brief cameo where her face isn’t shown). And only one dwarf, Nion (Nick Frost), joins this movie’s quest. Based on his antics, he’s either “Dopey” or “Grumpy.”

The production design appears to have been influenced more by Maleficent than The Lord of the Rings . The arguing dwarves are on hand to provide the obligatory “comedic” moments that are supposed to lighten the apocalyptic implications of Freya’s plans. That might work if their banter was less inane and more genuinely humorous. As it is, they are irritating encumbrances whose superfluous nature becomes apparent with the approach of the climax.

By incorporating indirect references to Frozen and making “true love” an important theme, The Huntsman: Winter’s War hopes to win the hearts of younger female viewers. It’s a desperate ploy and the awkwardness with which it pursues this aim compromises the film’s structure. It’s possible to show love in ways other than having characters talk incessantly about it. It would be unfair to argue that there was no room for a sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman . The problem with The Huntsman: Winter’s War isn’t a lack of ideas but an inability to fuse them into a compelling story that draws on the strengths of its predecessor rather than incorporating tropes into an unsatisfying mass of fantasy adventure mediocrity.

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Review: ‘The Huntsman,’ a Study in Hollywood’s Overstuffed Playbook

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By A.O. Scott

• April 21, 2016

Is “ The Huntsman: Winter’s War ” the worst movie of the year? It’s too early to say, of course, and it’s a complicated question, since there are so many varieties of bad movie. There are grandiose failures driven by overreaching ambition. There are spectacles of stupefying incompetence. Dumb ideas and baffling choices are never in short supply. Nor are follies and blunders and train wrecks.

The conventional wisdom holds that none of these disasters happen on purpose, that nobody ever sets out to make a bad movie. “The Huntsman” challenges that idea, since it seems to be exactly the movie that the money behind it wanted to see made. Its badness is not extreme, but exemplary: It’s everything wrong with Hollywood today stuffed into a little less than two hours.

Review: ‘The Huntsman: Winter’s War’

The times critic a. o. scott reviews “the huntsman: winter’s war.”.

This is especially dispiriting because “Snow White and the Huntsman” — in relation to which this “Huntsman” is both sequel and prequel — was far from a terrible piece of entertainment. It was a dark, blood-tinged modern interpretation of an old fairy tale, with tough Cockney dwarves and a memorable villain in the regal, wrathful person of Charlize Theron’s Ravenna.

That movie, directed by Rupert Sanders, could be described as a reimagining of the Snow White story. It found a new idea in old material. “Winter’s War,” in contrast, directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan from a many-authored script, is more of a de-imagining. It has no ideas at all, just secondhand and half-baked concepts.

Every resonant theme or intriguing story possibility is stripped away and replaced with a ready-made franchise-movie conceit. The filmmakers compensate for emptiness with redundancy. There are two pairs of funny dwarves and two imperious villainesses and a love interest for the title character. (Snow White, played by Kristen Stewart once upon a time in 2011, is no longer around). More is not more.

Ravenna has a sister named Freya, who is played by Emily Blunt. Ms. Theron shows up early and late, at one point in a costume of golden feathers that makes her look like the mascot for a superglamorous drive-through fried-chicken joint. Freya, who shoots ice crystals out of her fingertips, presides over a frozen kingdom and is motivated to do evil out of thwarted maternal feelings. This is an interesting example of Hollywood sexism at work. Disappointed love of some kind — romantic in Ravenna’s case, parental in Freya’s — seems to be a requirement for female evildoing. Guys, on the other hand, can be bad just for the power-hungry fun of it.

Freya kidnaps children from the lands she conquers and raises them to be ruthless warriors. One of them grows up to be Eric (Chris Hemsworth), the hunky Huntsman who helped Snow White vanquish Ravenna. That momentous victory is pretty much yada yada’ed in the middle of “Winter’s War,” which is mostly about the star-crossed, action-screwball romance between Eric and Sara (Jessica Chastain), a fellow child soldier.

The movie is most awkward when it tries to hybridize its bedtime-story, Disney-stamped DNA with the genetic stock of contemporary cable drama. Its ideal audience seems to be 12-year-olds who secretly watch “Game of Thrones” and “Outlander,” or maybe their parents. There is not as much blood and skin on display here, of course, but the movie seems desperate for the grown-up credibility that hints of sex and gore might offer. The dwarves (Nick Frost, Rob Brydon, Sheridan Smith and Alexandra Roach) supply touches of pseudo-naughty humor. Poor Ms. Chastain and Mr. Hemsworth must spar and swear their love in Scottish accents straight from the Groundskeeper Willie Academy of Dialect Sciences. “Yer a right galoot,” Sara says to Eric.

She also stares stonily into that galoot’s eyes and says, “I’ve done terrible things.” Yes, but Ms. Chastain has also done “Zero Dark Thirty” and “The Help” and “The Tree of Life,” so there’s no need for her to be so hard on herself. But there’s also no need for anyone to keep trying to spin beloved fairy tales into second-rate franchises.

“The Huntsman: Winter’s War” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned) because it wants to be taken seriously, I guess. Running time: 1 hour 48 minutes.

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The Huntsman: Winter’s War

By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

Pity poor studly Chris Hemsworth . The Huntsman: Winter’s War, the paltry prequel in which he again lends his mighty Thor abs to the title role, reduces him to eye candy. OK, he wasn’t much more in 2012’s Snow White and the Huntsman. His co-star Kristen Stewart stole the show as the warrior princess who won the hearts of dwarfs everywhere. Stewart’s fling with married director Rupert Sanders may have motivated both of them to sit this one out. If so, smart move.

Now, first-time director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan calls the shots, and the dude does Hemsworth no favors. Winter’s War is a divafest from start to finish. Charlize Theron is back as evil queen Ravenna, and her beauty and bitchery remain wonders to behold. She treats her famed mirror like a toadying publicist by relentlessly demanding, “Who’s the fairest of them all?” And when the magnetic Emily Blunt shows up as Ravenna’s royal sister Freya, Hemsworth is virtually done for. These twisted sisters give the movie whatever life it has, and it’s not bloody much.

You can’t blame screenwriters Evan Spiliotopoulos and Craig Mazin for spending more time with the femmes fatales than the ho-hum Huntsman. But the script lifts so much plot from Disney’s animated Frozen that it could qualify as a remake. When Ravenna plays a dirty trick on Freya, her younger sibling effing freaks out. Like Elsa, she retreats to an ice kingdom where she can freeze out what she doesn’t like. Freya doesn’t sing “Let It Go,” the Oscar-winning song from Frozen, but she does damn near everything else to remind us of a movie we’d rather be watching.

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Billie eilish would like to reintroduce herself, team trump is ready to lose the supreme court immunity case. they’re celebrating, russian mercenaries hunt the african warlord america couldn’t catch.

And what of the Huntsman? He’s part of the army Freya builds to go medieval on Ravenna’s ass and steal her talking mirror. The Huntsman has been trained for battle since childhood, when he was called Eric. His rival in skill is a Huntswoman called Sara. Much to Hemsworth’s bad luck, she is played by Jessica Chastain , who can act rings around him. Since their love story packs no heat, comic relief comes in the form of two dwarfs, Nion (Nick Frost) and Gryff (Rob Brydon). But even dwarf dudes are cursed in this film, since Bromwyn (Sheridan Smith), a smartass female dwarf, steals every scene.

Somewhere in the middle of this maddening mess, the Snow White story is obliquely wedged in and Winter’s War goes from prequel to sequel. It makes no sense, but it does let Theron and Blunt, dressed to thrill in Colleen Atwood’s costumes, go at it in full-tilt boogie. The film lets rip with the crumbling of ice castles and other forms of mass destruction. But nothing can match seeing Theron and Blunt try to out-camp each other, providing the only glimmer of entertainment in a film dedicated to being ponderous. No one sings “Let It Go,” but my advice to audiences is to do just that before mistakenly buying a ticket.

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Snow White and the Huntsman

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Rent Snow White and the Huntsman on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

While it offers an appropriately dark take on the fairy tale that inspired it, Snow White and the Huntsman is undone by uneven acting, problematic pacing, and a confused script.

Audience Reviews

Cast & crew.

Rupert Sanders

Kristen Stewart

Charlize Theron

Chris Hemsworth

The Huntsman

Sam Claflin

Sam Spruell

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More like this, movie news & guides, this movie is featured in the following articles., critics reviews.

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Snow White and the Huntsman

In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen. In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen. In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen.

• Rupert Sanders
• Evan Daugherty
• John Lee Hancock
• Hossein Amini
• Kristen Stewart
• Chris Hemsworth
• Charlize Theron
• 845 User reviews
• 399 Critic reviews
• 57 Metascore
• 13 wins & 33 nominations total

• The Huntsman

• Duke Hammond

• Snow White's Mother

• King Magnus

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia Ravenna's powers are based on the legend of Erszebet (or Elizabeth) Bathory, a 17th-century Hungarian potentate who allegedly consumed and bathed in the blood of murdered young girls in an attempt to rejuvenate herself.
• Goofs While fleeing the castle astride the white horse, despite having mounted and later mired the steed with neither saddle, blanket, nor reins, there are several shots where snow white's posture is much too straight for a bareback rider, but a rider in a saddle and stirrups which have been digitally removed, and where Snow White's hands are positioned exactly where digitally removed reins would be as well, and (at around 28 mins) the blanket has been left a bit too clearly visible to be all that easily missed.

[first lines]

The Huntsman : [narration] Once upon a time, in deep winter, a queen was admiring the falling snow, when she saw a rose blooming in defiance of the cold. Reaching for it she pricked her finger and three drops of blood fell. And because the red seemed so alive against the white she thought, "If only I had a child as white as snow, lips as red as blood, hair as black as a raven's wings, and all with the strength of that rose." Soon after a daughter was born to the queen and was named Snow White.

• Alternate versions The Extended Version contains 5 new scenes and runs ~4 minutes longer than the Theatrical Version.
• Connections Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #20.136 (2012)
• Soundtracks What Will You Do? Written by June Tabor and Maddy Prior

User reviews 845

• Jun 13, 2013
• What is "Snow White and the Huntsman" about?
• Is "Snow White and the Huntsman" based on a book?
• Why didn't Ravenna kill Snow White when she was a child instead of imprisoning her?
• June 1, 2012 (United States)
• United States
• United Kingdom
• Official Facebook
• Official Twitter
• Snow White & the Huntsman
• Quiraing, Skye, Highland, Scotland, UK
• Universal Pictures
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $170,000,000 (estimated)
• $155,332,381
• $56,217,700
• Jun 3, 2012
• $396,592,829

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 7 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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Snow white and the huntsman, common sense media reviewers.

Violent fairy tale isn't for kids but will attract teens.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Most of the movie is clouded in the queen's ev

Snow White is pure of heart and composes herself i

This is a dark and violent story with a high body

The queen exudes sexuality in nearly every scene.

Language includes "hell," "damn,&qu

Adult characters drink, and a couple of them get d

Parents need to know that Snow White and the Huntsman isn't the sweet and colorful fairy tale that's depicted in other adaptations: This is a very dark, violent, moody story with a lot of death and mature themes. Charlize Theron's queen is more than evil; she's sadistic and vain and will kill…

Positive Messages

Most of the movie is clouded in the queen's evil thirst for eternal youth, but there are some inspiring messages about true beauty being of the heart, as exemplified by Snow White. Snow White's loving nature is what makes her unique; she doesn't know how to lead at first, but she knows how to open her heart and care for others, and for that she's beloved as a princess and eventually a queen. Obviously the queen's nefarious plans for domination are a cautionary tale about beauty being a woman's only power, but she does pose interesting questions about how men have historically dominated women and used them for their desires.

Positive Role Models

Snow White is pure of heart and composes herself in a loving, selfless manner. Even though she has every reason to be afraid and think only of her safety, she's constantly worried about everyone in the kingdom, her good friend the duke, and his son, William. Although he's a reluctant hero, the huntsman rises to the occasion to defend and protect Snow White, and he even grows to care for her -- thinking of someone else for the first time in years -- as they travel together throughout the kingdom. William is an active hero; he jumps at the opportunity to rescue Snow White the moment he learns she's alive and in danger. The queen is clearly evil and not meant to be seen as a role model.

Violence & Scariness

This is a dark and violent story with a high body count. The queen kills scores of people and tortures others by literally sucking their youth out of them so she can magically remain young. She eats birds' hearts (the scene in which she plucks a bloody bird's heart out of its body is a particularly gruesome moment) and can kill in many different ways -- without ever spilling blood. There are battles between phantom armies and the king's army, and then Ravenna's army defeats the king's army and is said to have murdered everyone left in the castle. The queen's creepy brother admits that he has stared at Snow White and then basically attempts to rape her (he gets on top of her forcefully, but she injures him and escapes). Various groups of the Queen's army fight Snow White, the huntsman, and the duke with axes, swords, and arrows. The dark forest is full of frightening creatures that can poison or maim.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

The queen exudes sexuality in nearly every scene. She wears form-fitting gowns and is shown nude descending into a milk bath; her naked lower back is on display several times. The wedding night between the queen and the king isn't graphic, but he's on top of her in bed, kissing and caressing her (until things take a violent turn). Snow White gets a couple of kisses.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Language includes "hell," "damn," and "stupid."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Adult characters drink, and a couple of them get drunk (the huntsman in particular is known as a big drinker). The dwarfs all have a few too many, and then one makes a joke about feeling "lovely" because of the "mushrooms" in a fairy forest.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Snow White and the Huntsman isn't the sweet and colorful fairy tale that's depicted in other adaptations: This is a very dark, violent, moody story with a lot of death and mature themes. Charlize Theron 's queen is more than evil; she's sadistic and vain and will kill or torture anyone in order to keep her magically eternal youth and beauty (a scene in which she plucks a bloody bird's heart out of its body and eats is particularly gruesome). The body count is quite high -- usually in hand-to-hand battles -- as is the number of people the queen magically robs of their youth (or life). Although there are a couple of kisses, this Snow White (played by Twilight 's Kristen Stewart ) isn't preoccupied with romance but rather with saving a kingdom from its tyrannical ruler. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (17)
• Kids say (71)

Based on 17 parent reviews

its amazing

What's the story.

In this reimagining of Snow White, the beautiful young princess is imprisoned after the forever-young Ravenna ( Charlize Theron ) seduces, marries, and then murders the king ( Cary Elwes ). When the magic mirror informs the queen that the Fairest of Them All is now Snow White, who has come of age ( Kristen Stewart ), Ravenna sends her brother to kill the princess, but the girl manages to escape into the Dark Forest. Ravenna angrily summons a disillusioned huntsman ( Chris Hemsworth ) to capture Snow White -- but at the last moment, he joins forces with her to evade the queen's guards. The two embark on a journey that eventually leads her to her beloved childhood friend, the duke's brave son, William ( Sam Claflin ), and seven fierce dwarfs -- all of whom are ready to take arms against the queen.

Is It Any Good?

SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN is a visual wonder: It begins and ends with a vibrant palette, but the bulk of the movie, like the story, is clouded in the somber mood the queen casts over the kingdom. The cinematography is lush, and the landscapes -- especially the fantastically creepy Dark Forest -- are memorable. And like Tim Burton 's finest, this is a film where costume plays a significant role. Academy Award-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood's creations are amazing, especially Ravenna's elaborate gowns, which range from a royal wedding dress to a feathery black frock made up of crows. Even the seven dwarfs (all of whom are deliciously played by famous English character actors like Ian McShane , Ray Stevenson , Nick Frost , and Bob Hoskins ) are outfitted in memorable gear.

Theron isn't just gorgeous; she's a gifted actress capable of eliciting fear or desire just as easily. A former model, she can say a great deal with just the straightening of her back or an icy scowl. Stewart is a divisive performer (some critics think she perpetually looks bored), but she pulls off the pure and fair of heart Snow quite well. As for Hemsworth, he was born to play epic heroes. But while the movie is well acted and a marvel for the eyes, it's also overlong and delves into one too many subplots that aren't properly resolved. One of the most central, obviously, is whether Snow White's destined love is her lifelong friend William or the rogue huntsman. It's refreshing that the romance isn't the movie's central preoccupation, but by the end it's clear that there would need to be a sequel just to figure out who's to be her consort -- not to mention address the substantive issues of how a leader can heal a land so broken by years of ruin.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how this depiction of the Snow White story is different than Disney's Snow White , Mirror Mirror , or other adaptations of the fairy tale. Which do you think is truest to the original story?

Although this movie is about a fairy tale, it's not really aimed at younger fans of Snow White. Is it appropriate for a Snow White adaptation to be so violent ?

Talk about the movie's messages about beauty. What traits are described as beautiful in the movie? Does this movie maintain the original story's message about beauty, or is it different? Is this a feminist movie, or not?

Movie Details

• In theaters : June 1, 2012
• On DVD or streaming : September 11, 2012
• Cast : Charlize Theron , Chris Hemsworth , Kristen Stewart
• Director : Rupert Sanders
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Gay actors
• Studio : Universal Pictures
• Genre : Fantasy
• Topics : Magic and Fantasy , Fairy Tales , Great Girl Role Models
• Run time : 127 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : intense sequences of violence and action, and brief sensuality
• Last updated : March 11, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Mirror Mirror

The Princess Bride

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Movie Review: Prepare to get hot and bothered with stylish, synthy tennis drama ‘Challengers’

Zendaya says starting out as a child actor made her want to get more involved behind the camera as an adult. Promoting her new film “Challengers” alongside co-stars Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor, the 27-year-old actor and producer said she enjoys being able to have “a seat at the table” when it comes to making creative decisions. She spoke with AP entertainment reporter Krysta Fauria about working with director Luca Guadagnino, whether she wants to direct in the future and her “beautiful journey” in Hollywood.

This image released by Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures shows Mike Faist, from left, Zendaya and Josh O’Connor in a scene from “Challengers.” (Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures via AP)

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This image released by Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures shows Zendaya in a scene from “Challengers.” (Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures via AP)

This image released by Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures shows Zendaya, left, and Josh O’Connor in a scene from “Challengers.” (Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures via AP)

This image released by Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures shows Mike Faist, left, and Josh O’Connor in a scene from “Challengers.” (Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures via AP)

This image released by Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures shows Mike Faist, left, and Zendaya in a scene from “Challengers.” (Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures via AP)

“Challengers” is a bit of a tease. That’s what makes it fun.

There is plenty of skin, sweat, close-ups of muscly thighs and smoldering looks of lust and hate in this deliriously over-the-top psychodrama. But get that image of Josh O’Connor, Zendaya and Mike Faist sitting together on the bed out of your mind. Most of this action takes place on the tennis court.

It’s still a sexy tennis movie about friendship, love, competition and sport set to a synth-y score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross — it just might not contain exactly what you think it does. But remember, Luca Guadagnino is the one who filmed Timothée Chalamet with that peach, perhaps more memorable than any actual sex scene from the past decade. Manage expectations, but also trust.

And like “Call Me By Your Name” did for Chalamet, “Challengers” is one of those rare original big-screen delights that firmly announces the arrival of a new generation of movie stars. Zendaya and Faist already had a bit of a leg up. She has played significant supporting roles in some of the biggest movies of the past few years, from “Spider-Man” to “Dune,” and he had had his big cinematic breakthrough as Riff in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.” But it’s O’Connor who really comes out on top, effectively shedding any lingering image of him as a whiny, dweeby Prince Charles in seasons three and four of “The Crown.” In “Challengers,” his Patrick Zweig is the cocky, flirty, slightly mean, slightly dirty and slightly broken bad boyfriend of our fictional dreams.

Written by playwright Justin Kuritzkes (who is married to “Past Lives” filmmaker Celine Song) “Challengers” is a prickly treat, about fractured relationships, egos, infidelity and ambition. Set during a qualifying match at the New Rochelle Tennis Club, outside New York City, the intricately woven story reveals itself through flashbacks that build to a crescendo in the present-day match.

O’Connor’s Patrick and Faist’s Art are old boarding school roommates turned tennis teammates. It’s a relationship that’s at turns brotherly, erotic and competitive. Whatever it is, they are definitely too close and not remotely prepared for Zendaya’s Tashi Duncan to enter the mix.

Tashi, in high school, is well on her way to becoming the next big tennis superstar. Art and Patrick watch her play, mouths agape at her technical form and physical beauty. Later, they both ask for her number, leading to a revealing night in a grungy hotel room. She promises her number to the one who wins the singles match the next day. Tashi just wants to see some good tennis, she says, but she also knows how to motivate and manipulate.

Mike Faist, left, and Josh O’Connor in a scene from “Challengers.” (Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures via AP)

Because of the fractured timeline, we know that Tashi in the present day does not play tennis anymore. She was injured at some point and never recovered, unlike her husband, Art, who is now one of the most famous players in the world. The two of them are wildly wealthy, living in a ritzy hotel and fronting Aston Martin ad campaigns. At night, Tashi uses Augustinus Bader cream to moisturize her legs. Guadagnino, who likes to wink at and luxuriate in wealth signifiers, enlisted JW Anderson designer Jonathan Anderson to do the costumes, which will surely populate summer style inspiration boards the way his “A Bigger Splash” and “Call Me By Your Name” have in the past.

But while they are technically at the top, Art is also on a losing streak, so Tashi sends him to a low-stakes tournament where he can get his confidence back. That’s where they encounter Patrick, who has not been so fortunate over the years and who has fallen out with his old friends. Of course, it’s all building to Patrick and Art playing one another in the final match, a part of which is so wildly and comically drawn out that you can almost envision the “Saturday Night Live” spoof.

Zendaya in a scene from “Challengers.” (Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures via AP)

“Challengers” is a drama, but a funny and self-aware one. It doesn’t take itself very seriously and has a lot of fun with its characters, all three of which are anti-heroes in a way. You might have a favorite, but you’re probably not rooting for anyone exactly — just glued to the screen to see how it all plays out on and off the court.

“Challengers,” an MGM release in theaters Friday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for “language throughout, some sexual content and graphic nudity.” Running time: 131 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.

Review: Zendaya's 'Challengers' serves up saucy melodrama – and some good tennis, too

The saucy tennis melodrama “Challengers” is all about the emotional games we play with each other, though there are certainly enough volleys, balls and close-up sweat globules if you’re more into jockstraps than metaphors.

Italian director Luca Guadagnino ( “Call Me By Your Name” ) puts an art-house topspin on the sports movie, with fierce competition, even fiercer personalities and athletic chutzpah set to the thumping beats of a techno-rific Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross score. “Challengers” (★★★ out of four; rated R; in theaters Friday) centers on the love triangle between doubles partners-turned-rivals (Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor) and a teen wunderkind ( Zendaya ) and how lust, ambition and power dynamics evolve their relationships over the course of 13 years.

The movie opens with Art (Faist) and Tashi (Zendaya) as the It couple of pro tennis: He’s eyeing a U.S. Open title, the only tournament he’s never won, while she’s his intense coach, manager and wife, a former sensation along the lines of a Venus or Serena whose career was cut short by a gnarly knee injury. To build up his flagging confidence after recent losses, Tashi enters Art in a lower-level event that he can dominate – until he faces ex-bestie Patrick (O’Connor) in the final match.

Justin Kuritzkes’ soapy screenplay bounces between that present and the trios’ complicated past via flashbacks, starting when Art and Patrick – a ride-or-die duo known as “Fire and Ice” – both have eyes for Tashi. All three are 18 and the hormones are humming: The boys have been tight since they were preteens at boarding school, but a late-night, three-way makeout session, and the fact that she’ll only give her number to whoever wins the guys' singles match, creates a seismic crack that plays itself out over the coming years.

All three main actors ace their arcs and changing looks over time – that’s key in a nonlinear film like this that’s all over the place. As Tashi, Zendaya plays a woman who exudes an unshakable confidence, though her passion for these two men is seemingly her one weakness. Faist (“West Side Story”) crafts Art as a talented precision player whose love for the game might not be what it once was, while O’Connor (“The Crown”) gives Patrick a charming swagger with and without a racket, even though his life has turned into a bit of a disaster.

From the start, the men's closeness hints at something more than friendship, a quasi-sexual tension that Tashi enjoys playing with: She jokes that she doesn’t want to be a “homewrecker” yet wears a devilish smile when Art and Patrick kiss, knowing the mess she’s making.

Tennis is “a relationship,” Tashi informs them, and Guadagnino uses the sport to create moments of argumentative conversation as well as cathartic release. Propelled by thumping electronica, his tennis scenes mix brutality and grace, with stylish super-duper close-ups and even showing the ball’s point of view in one dizzying sequence. Would he do the same with, say, curling or golf? It’d be cool to see because more often than not, you want to get back to the sweaty spectacle.

Guadagnino could probably make a whole movie about masculine vulnerability in athletics rather than just tease it with “Challengers,” with revealing bits set in locker rooms and saunas. But the movie already struggles with narrative momentum, given the many tangents in Tashi, Art and Patrick’s thorny connections: While not exactly flabby, the film clocks in at 131 minutes and the script could use the same toning up as its sinewy performers.

While “Challengers” falls nebulously somewhere between a coming-of-age flick, dysfunctional relationship drama and snazzy sports extravaganza, Guadagnino nevertheless holds serve with yet another engaging, hot-blooded tale of flawed humans figuring out their feelings.