But there is of course the proverbial elephant in the room: Kristen Stewart.

Potential audience members not caught in the grip of Twilight fever are no doubt worried about the actress’ inclusion, wondering if no amount of cinematic wizardry could make up for placing Bella Swan in the middle of such a beloved tale. Aside from her very early work and some independent features, there isn’t much I could think of to assuage those doubts. Thankfully, it appears the director and screenwriters felt the same way and aside from one key speech (which is so corny it evokes Braveheart, Independence Day and Street Fighter), Stewart’s dialogue is largely limited to a few sentences at a time.

Her character is imbued with an accent of sorts, not quite British, not quite Old English. This helps reduce the normally whiny quality and neurotic delivery of her voice; and when Stewart isn’t suffering from Ben Affleck disease (close your mouth if you’re not talking), she possesses the right kind of beauty for the role. Giving her such a prominent role in the final battle, decked in chain mail no less, it’s a wonder they didn’t call the film Joan of Arc and the Huntsman, but that’s probably the cynic in me more than anything else.

Really, the biggest problems stem from the score and trying to tackle so many plot points. Composed by James Newton Howard, the music is completely overdramatic and loud for the sake of being loud. The middle section of the film is less plagued by these distractions but it’s too bad the approach wasn’t far more subtle as some of the themes were lovely in concept but too boisterous in execution. As for the plot points, you have the evil Queen’s back story, Snow White’s back story, the Huntsman’s back story, a quasi love-triangle, the Queen’s brother, the dwarves, fairies, the dark forest, and the fairy tale itself. Sure, at a touch over two hours there is some time to address these points, but eliminating any one, or more, of these elements would have allowed for better development of everything else (I vote to lose the childhood friend/love interest of Snow and the community of women who scar themselves so as not to offend the Queen).

On the bright side, the amount of work that went into creating the illusion that the full size actors were dwarves was well spent. While it deprives excellent little people from grabbing those roles, seeing the likes of Nick Frost, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone and Toby Jones as dwarves was a delight. They pick up the energy level of the production as it heads into the last quarter of the film. It would have been nice to see more done with them but going back to my major complaint, there were just too many story arcs being attempted to allow this to happen.

Chris Hemsworth does a decent enough job of finding a middle ground between the tough jock from The Cabin in the Woods and Thor. The little girl playing a young Kristen Stewart was engaging and Charlize Theron dove headfirst into her role. There are a few shades of gray to her wickedness and she was able to capture them without eliciting disbelief. The effects done to age her and illustrate the magic of the film were all handled quite well, and the production design team should also be commended for top notch work. A number of elements seem culled from other works (my favorite/most baffling being the likeness of the fairies to the little creatures in Galaxy Quest that aren’t so cute when they show their teeth) but it wasn’t until analyzing and discussing the film afterwards that most of these homages/references/imitations came to light.

While tightening up the script (and recasting Snow White) probably could have catapulted this to real critical acclaim, the bottom line is that Snow White and the Huntsman is an entertaining film. It’s too dark and deals with themes not appropriate for little kids (show them the Disney cartoon, not Mirror Mirror) but for teenagers on up, this is the first summer movie since The Avengers that actually could qualify as worth the price of admission if the subject material looks interesting to you. Not since Sigourney Weaver’s darker take on the tale has anything interesting enough been done to deserve mentioning and maybe, just maybe, it’s a sign Kristen Stewart won’t just be Bella Swan for the rest of her career. Maybe.

GRADE: B+

Snow White and the Huntsman hits theaters on June 1, 2012 and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and brief sensuality.

Reviewed by Kevin Finnerty

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?,” asks Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) to her magical mirror. “You are the fairest, but there is another destined to surpass you,” replies the mirror who’s speaking about the true heir to the kingdom, Snow White (Kristen Stewart) in the action adventure film, Snow White and the Huntsman.

Years earlier Ravenna seized control of the kingdom when Snow White was just a young girl by seducing and murdering her father the King. Over the course of her childhood and as she grew into a beautiful young woman, Snow White was kept a prisoner in the north tower of the castle. With Snow White locked up and Ravenna on the throne, the kingdom has fallen into despair and darkness. Upon hearing the magic mirror’s warning about Snow White eventually surpassing her beauty, the Queen orders the death of her prisoner. However, with the help of a few birds Snow manages to finally escape the castle and make it to the dreaded Dark Forest where few dare to tread and where even the Queen’s evil magic is powerless.

Determined to capture and murder Snow White, the Queen sends a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), who’s familiar with the Dark Forest to journey there, find the princess, and kill her. Once the huntsman finds Snow, he finds himself unable to murder the pure and innocent young woman. Instead, he becomes her protector and mentor, teaching her how to defend herself in combat and leading her to an ally’s camp. On the way, the two unlikely comrades run into seven thieving dwarfs (did you really think they wouldn’t be in it…what’s Snow White without the Dwarfs?). All of the dwarfs are taken by Snow’s charm, beauty, and innocence, but it’s the eldest dwarf, Muir (Bob Hoskins), who recognizes that she is the one they and the kingdom have been waiting for to free them from the darkness and despair of the Queen’s reign and restore the kingdom to its full glory.

Snow White and the Huntsman is a fantasy action-adventure that strives to be an epic take on the classic fairy tale but fails due to awkward pacing, overacting and a non-performance from one of its key stars. One of the best things about the film is Charlize Theron’s extremely effective performance as the evil Queen Ravenna who’s only interested in continuing her reign of the kingdom and keeping her unnatural beauty intact no matter what it takes. Not since Disney’s 1937 classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has there been such a malevolent Queen up on the big screen. It’s a shame that her performance halfway through the movie becomes too big and too loud due to overacting in a few scenes.

Chris Hemsworth (Thor, The Avengers) delivers a solid performance in the first half of the film as the huntsman who protects Snow White in the Dark Forest and comes to care for her. But he seems to disappear into the background behind the dwarfs and Snow White herself in the second half of the film. Without a doubt though the worst element in the film is Kristen Stewart’s uninteresting, boring, non-performance as the pure princess who’s destined to overthrow the Queen. Stewart’s Snow White is a pale, emotionless heroine who seems bored by almost everything around her. A key scene between her and one of the first dwarfs to welcome the princess into their company and sign up to protect her is ruined by Stewart being unable to convey empathy and sadness. In another important scene where Snow White is greeted and blessed by a great magical Stag, the actress is literally out acted by a CGI special effect. Hey, let’s hear it for Bambi!

Another weakness with the movie is the slow, awkward pacing which will have the audience checking their watches and wondering when the adventure will continue, if ever. The film does have some solid production value with the castle, the village, and the Dark Forest looking great, as well as impressive make-up and special effects – especially for the dwarfs and the magic mirror.

Boring and tedious, Snow White and the Huntsman is a shallow, empty re-telling of a fairy tale classic that will have the audience wishing they were watching the Disney 1937 animated classic instead.

GRADE: C-

Snow White and the Huntsman hits theaters on June 1, 2012.