Huntsman Winter's War is directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan and is the sequel to 2012's Snow White and the Huntsman. It stars Chris Hemsworth, Jessica Chastain, Emily Blunt, Nick Frost, Rob Brydon, Sheridan Smith and Charlize Theron. The film is similar to 300 Rise of an Empire in which fairly large parts are set before and after the film's predecessor. Before the events of the first film, Eric (Hemsworth) and Sara (Chastain) are Huntsmen who fight for Ice Queen Freya (Blunt), the sister of Queen Ravenna (Theron), who seeks to obtain the Magic Mirror. However, Eric and Sara are exiled and search for the Mirror to get to it before Freya.
Another way in which this film is similar to Rise of an Empire is that it is unnecessary and perhaps a year or two overdue. Whilst it certainly wasn't needed, there are some aspects in this that make it a little better than Snow White and the Huntsmen, namely the sharper comedy and crisper effects. Rob Brydon and Nick Frost are two side kick dwarves to Eric and serve as the film's main reserve of comic relief with Sheridan Smith's never-before-seen-in-film female dwarf adding some quick witted retorts to their numerous arguments as well. The comedy is also balanced out appropriately and the film is relatively well paced with a distinct visual style (the director worked as the visual effects supervisor on Snow White and the Huntsman) that is brought to life by some half decent 3D.
Yet the film comes off as more of a spoof than any sort of continuation. There are dozens of moments which feel like they've been taken from a variety of fantasy films; the Ice Queen with family troubles echoes Frozen; the large polar bear as a mount and frozen characters bring to mind The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Sara is a cross between Katniss, Tauriel and Merida from Brave (but with a much more questionable Scottish accent); the influence of Lord of the Rings is also noticed (even if the film does massively change the appearance of what we think as goblins) and Chris Hemsworth just seems to be playing Thor more often than not, even if it is a charming performance. The story is predictable whilst the script seems relatively unpolished for the rather stunning cast to really get their teeth into, though Charlize Theron manages to make some of it seem more natural than forced.
Huntsman: Winter's War is an overdue, forgettable fantasy film that feels too reliant on previous franchises to really take off and become something more, but there are a few moments that entertain amongst all the ice.
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