'The Huntsman,' a 'Snow White' prequel, stars a pricey cast

Imagination seems to have been frozen out of this attempt to capitalize on the success of 'Snow White and the Huntsman.'

Aside from the lucre to be made, there was no pressing reason for Hollywood to make a prequel (or is it a sequel?) to “Snow White and the Huntsman.” But lucre ever rules in La-La Land, and so we have “The Huntsman: Winter’s War,” with a pricey cast including Chris Hensworth, Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt, and Jessica Chastain. (Missing in action is Kristen Stewart’s Snow White. Go figure.)

Theron’s murderous Ravenna, it turns out, has a sister, Blunt’s Freya, who possesses a Fantastic Four-style power that can turn anybody or anything into ice. She is, literally, an ice queen. Hemsworth and Chastain play the grown-up version of two of Freya’s abducted child soldiers. Theirs is supposed to be a love story of sorts, though they come across more like ninjas than romancers; in any case, the two stars don’t strike many sparks. (Too bad – a few sparks could melt all that ice a lot quicker.)

To be memorable, fairy tale extravangazas require outsize imaginations or else they just sit on the screen, as does this film, directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, which is a welter of computer effects and thudding action. May there be no more sequels, prequels, or remakes.

(C-)