The Huntsman: Winter's War

Name: The Huntsman: Winter's War
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Released: April 22, 2016
Duration: 114 min
Rating: 35
Cast: Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain

2016

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 41 Critics

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 185 Ratings

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5.2	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 185 Ratings

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The Huntsman: Winter's War

Movie Details & Credits

Universal Pictures | Release Date: April 22, 2016

Starring: Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain

Summary: Long before the evil Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) was thought vanquished by Snow White’s blade, she watched silently as her sister, Freya (Emily Blunt), suffered a heartbreaking betrayal and fled their kingdom. With Freya’s ability to freeze any enemy, the young ice queen has spent decades in a remote wintry palace raising a legion ofLong before the evil Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) was thought vanquished by Snow White’s blade, she watched silently as her sister, Freya (Emily Blunt), suffered a heartbreaking betrayal and fled their kingdom. With Freya’s ability to freeze any enemy, the young ice queen has spent decades in a remote wintry palace raising a legion of deadly huntsmen—including Eric (Chris Hemsworth) and warrior Sara (Jessica Chastain)—only to find that her prized two defied her one demand: Forever harden your hearts to love. When Freya learns of her sister’s demise, she summons her remaining soldiers to bring the Magic Mirror home to the only sorceress left who can harness its power. But once she discovers Ravenna can be resurrected from its golden depths, the wicked sisters threaten this enchanted land with twice the darkest force it’s ever seen. Now, their amassing army shall prove undefeatable…unless the banished huntsmen who broke their queen’s cardinal rule can fight their way back to one another. [Universal Pictures]… Expand

Director: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 114 min

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Awards & Rankings

85	#85 Most Discussed Movie of 2016
55	#55 Most Shared Movie of 2016

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Philadelphia Inquirer - Steven Rea

Apr 22, 2016

Theron proves the master of operatic hissy fits, Blunt lets the pain show beneath the glacial cool, Chastain brings her usual Juilliard-schooled commitment to the occasion, and Hemsworth is Hemsworthian, if oft-times incomprehensible, delivering his lines in a gorse-y whorl of vowels and consonants. Read full review

The Film Stage - Brian Roan

Apr 21, 2016

In spite of all of its myriad shortfalls, this film succeeds as well as it does because it does not shy away from this truth, and because it gives us a romances that feel so true between people we would like to see succeed. Read full review

Chicago Tribune - Katie Walsh

Apr 21, 2016

Every time Charlize Theron is on screen, the movie gets crazy campy, and therefore at least somewhat interesting. Read full review

Time Out London - Cath Clarke

Apr 4, 2016

All told, ‘Winter’s War’ is not the fairest sequel, but it’s not so terrible that it deserves to be taken out to the forest and finished off. Read full review

Austin Chronicle - Kimberley Jones

Apr 20, 2016

The actors are all game, but the job’s beneath them – Hemsworth, a pro, and a real champ at faking enthusiasm for this dud; Theron, still doing camp but this time with no tempering complexity or empathy; Blunt, stuck playing a frost-bitten Mommie Dearest. Read full review

IndieWire - Kate Erbland

Apr 19, 2016

The film's narrative is both plodding and predictable, and after the third or fourth battle sequence that leans so heavily on loud, thudding noises and swirling leather topcoats that it's impossible to see who is actually hitting who (and, moreover, why), audiences may be in danger of remembering just which "reimagined" fairy tale they're watching on screen. Read full review

The New York Times - A.O. Scott

Apr 21, 2016

Its badness is not extreme, but exemplary: It’s everything wrong with Hollywood today stuffed into a little less than two hours. Read full review

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User Reviews

akela

Apr 30, 2016

I really enjoyed watching "The Huntsman: Winter's War". I really don't know why everyone is giving it a bunch of crap! The plot line was very creative and had some cool plot twists, and the casting was absolutely PERFECT! It not only tied up a few loose ends from the first movie, it gave aI really enjoyed watching "The Huntsman: Winter's War". I really don't know why everyone is giving it a bunch of crap! The plot line was very creative and had some cool plot twists, and the casting was absolutely PERFECT! It not only tied up a few loose ends from the first movie, it gave a lot of the previous characters backgrounds and added more to their stories! I HIGHLY recommend this movie.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Tokyochuchu

May 29, 2016

The Huntsman: Winter's War is a better film that the original Snow White. It's got quite a lot of fun and laughs in it. The movie also has some spectacular visuals too. I'm happy that people are still making these quirky fantasy movies that aren't Lord of the Rings related. They remind me ofThe Huntsman: Winter's War is a better film that the original Snow White. It's got quite a lot of fun and laughs in it. The movie also has some spectacular visuals too. I'm happy that people are still making these quirky fantasy movies that aren't Lord of the Rings related. They remind me of '80s flicks like Willow and Krull.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

LeZee

Sep 29, 2016

The Huntsman and his romance caught between the two evil sisters.

This is a sequel as well as a prequel to the 2012 film 'Snow White and Huntsman'. It opened with the earlier story where and how the Huntsman grew up, especially the journey of his innocent childhood to a great fighter thatThe Huntsman and his romance caught between the two evil sisters.

This is a sequel as well as a prequel to the 2012 film 'Snow White and Huntsman'. It opened with the earlier story where and how the Huntsman grew up, especially the journey of his innocent childhood to a great fighter that covers in the first half an hour. And then it skips for about 7 years where the original film takes place, but immediately begins where it had ended in the first half, as well as the first film. Actually, not a bad film as I have heard of it, but same as the previous film that stands just above the average and slightly loses some decibel rating.

The actors were good though. Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain and Charlize Theron, wow, super hot women, but sadly they are in fairytale costume. Their performances were great, but the characters, particularly the two sisters resemble the 'Frozen's Anna and Elsa. You can feel how desperate was the filmmakers to avoid such comparisons by viewers, so they developed the story very far from any string attached to that famous animation. In the end these things are unavoidable, since the story is not fresh enough to claim its independent status.

Chris Hemsworth was okay, I hope he won't return for the third film. It is a decent watch, and I think it will remain as an duology, for right now it seems a good idea. The problem is it was being made a dark-fantasy to appeal the grown ups, particularly men. But it should have been a children's film where adults too can enjoy like the Disney's 'Maleficent'. Except the opening the rest of the story seemed very ordinary. Though the action sequences were enjoyable and so the film with a low expectation, or the purpose of the watch is the timepass.

6/10… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

marcmyworks

Jun 28, 2016

This film was a mission. It was a combination of "Brave", "Frozen" and "Game of Thrones" with a bit of martial arts choreography thrown in for whatever reason. Sadly adding multiple comic relief actors added nothing to the plot rather than annoyance as Chris Hemsworth and Jessica ChastainThis film was a mission. It was a combination of "Brave", "Frozen" and "Game of Thrones" with a bit of martial arts choreography thrown in for whatever reason. Sadly adding multiple comic relief actors added nothing to the plot rather than annoyance as Chris Hemsworth and Jessica Chastain maintained the most boring love affair in film this year.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

MrMovieBuff

Apr 22, 2016

'The Huntsman: Winter's War' is a sequel...or a prequel...or a spin-off to 'Snow White and the Huntsman' (2012), a film that was generally seen as "Okay" by a lot of movie-goers, and somehow, the studio thought it was popular enough to get a sequel...or a prequel...or a spin-off. I honestly'The Huntsman: Winter's War' is a sequel...or a prequel...or a spin-off to 'Snow White and the Huntsman' (2012), a film that was generally seen as "Okay" by a lot of movie-goers, and somehow, the studio thought it was popular enough to get a sequel...or a prequel...or a spin-off. I honestly do not know what kind of a continuation this is supposed to be...

Charlize Theron is back as the evil Queen Ravenna, and as always, she looks stunning, her presence can sometimes up-stage her acting. We find out she has a younger sister named Freya (Emily Blunt) who, after something tragic happens to her, she becomes "The Ice Queen", and runs away in exile in order for her to cast icy spells. No, I am not explaining the plot of 'Frozen' (2013), although, it does seem like that's what this movie is trying to be. Clearly, the studio wants what Disney had with that success.

Chris Hemsworth returns as the Huntsman, and we can see from a young age, that Freya has taken a number of children and has ordered for them to work for her. He is infatuated with a woman named Sara (Jessica Chastain), who is a warrior, but little do they know that Freya, who was completely devoid of happiness in her life, has forbade love in her territory...

What is shocking (or, maybe not so shocking) about this movie was how lifeless it is, it's almost as if David Yates (director of the last four "Harry Potter" films) teamed with producer Peter Jackson (of "The Lord of the Rings") to do a live-action remake of Disney's 'Frozen' (2013), and not only did they make it darker and not include any of the musical numbers, but just took away all the fun and energy that the animated film had.

Emily Blunt, a talented actress (and if you don't believe me, watch her in 'Sicario' and tell me otherwise), is very stiff in her role of Freya, there is no dimension to her character, she is just supposed to have an evil presence. It is clear that the writers (Evan Spiliotopoulos and Craig Mazin) must have seen Disney's 2013 animated hit, and decided to use that as a template, for making the Ice Queen character sympathetic, but unlike the character Elsa, Freya lacks likeability and range. There is almost no emotional investment whatsoever.

The special effects in this film look terrific, but that is never enough to save a film's bland personality. There is also no Kristen Stewart, you'd think replacing her with Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain would make it better, but it did the complete opposite of that.

I could go on about how this film sucked the joy out of everything, but I would go on for five more paragraphs. This isn't the worst movie of 2016, just a forgettable one, if you want my advice, just go and watch 'Frozen' (2013) again, it's a better movie anyway than this bland wreck of a picture.… Expand

3 of 6 users found this helpful33

kyotomafia

Apr 22, 2016

Amazing costumes, great cgi, explosive (in a good way) cast. Hans Christian (the creator of the original Ice Queen) would be very proud. There's some mutual respect about the character. Forget Frozen, go read some books and educate yourself.

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

TyronJames

May 21, 2016

Bland everything is bland,dull everything is dull,horrendous everything is horrendous,Atrocious everything is atrocious,crap everything is crap.this film is just a waste of time and money.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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