Monday night I went and saw an advanced screening of “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” at the State Theater. Since the movie does not actually premier until April 22nd, and I do not want to be responsible for any spoils, I will not be talking about any specifics of the movie. Instead I will discuss my impressions and feelings from seeing the movie and then encourage you to go see it for yourself. See if you agree!
I had the sense, especially during the beginning of the movie (probably the first 30 to 45 min), of being lost as to what the timeframe of the movie was. I hadn’t been sure when I went to go see the movie if this was a prequel or a sequel; one of the trailers mentions this is the story before Snow White but other shots in the trailer seemed to take place after the events of the film “Snow White and the Huntsman”. The movie starts obviously before Snow White’s story but I was not sure where the movie was going because events started clipping along right from the beginning; it was looking like it was going to be a short movie. But instead of ending, the film skipped 7 years ahead to AFTER Snow White’s story. The film is both a prequel AND a sequel!
Now while this is an efficient method to pack a lot of twists and turns, action scenes, characters, and special effects into one film, as I an audience member, I’m not sure how much it worked. You really did have to have seen the first film, because it’s the entire middle of the story that they are weaving and it was not shown. And they really did have more than enough material to be two separate movies; separating much shorter stories into two or three or even four movies has been a common strategy in Hollywood and for once, I think that might have been better for the story they were telling.
That being said, once I understood it was a prequel and sequel I found it more enjoyable. So I think simply better advertising over what audiences can expect would have solved much of my confusion. There were a fair number of comedic lines, loveable characters, and intrigue; It kept me constantly watching to follow the many turns. Audience members are in for a ride!
