Hansel and Gretel, Witch Hunters:
Another film supposed to be released last year that was pushed back to January, this film has been getting tons of shit from critics. I can't understand why. It's a fun, humorous, balls-to-the-walls, gory, violent popcorn movie. The plot is simple: Hansel and Gretel grow up to e witch hunters after their first encounter with a witch in the candy house. They must face off against Muriel, a powerful witch who has gathered all dark witches to celebrate the "Blood Moon". They must team up with a beautiful woman, a fanboy, and a troll to stop the witches, all while avoiding Muriel and the corrupt sheriff of the rown they're protecting. The cast includes Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, 28 Weeks Later, Mission Impossible- Ghost Protocol, The Bourne Legacy, The Town, The Avengers), Gemma Arterton (Prince of Persia, Quantum of Solace), and Famke Janssen (Goldeneye, Nip/Tuck, X-Men). Yes, two Bond girls in this movie. Derek Mears, who protrayed Jason in 2009's Friday the 13th, provides motion capture for the troll: Edward, while Robin Atkin Downes (voice-actor in games such as Assassin's Creed III, Team Fortress 2, Halo 2, Skyrim, and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception) provides Edward's voice. Thomas Mann (Project X, It's Kind of a Funny Story, Fun Size) plays the loyal fanboy Ben, who wishes to be a witch hunter. Peter Stormare plays the villainous sheriff, who believes he rptoects the law by harassing the witch hunters. Zoe Bell makes a cameo as a witch. The direction is stylized, and the director (Tommy Wirkola) was responisble for the fun German zombie movie Dead Snow. The action in the film is near non-stop. The film also has some cool concepts such as steampunk-like technology such as semi-automatic crossbows and shotguns. Another interesting concept is a diabetes-like disease that Hansel has. The opening credits sequence is also really stylized and cool. The characters are a bit one-dimensional, but that doesn't detract from the kick-ass action which provides buckets of blood and gore. The world in which the film inhabits is kind of interesting, so hopefully it gets a sequel. The villains are really threatening, and the film provides so,e mild scares and chills, but this never detracts from the ever-present sense of humor. Although the acting isn't that good, the film makes you not care. Not saying that these people aren;t good actors, which they are, but the dialgoue is a bit choppy at bits. While it has it's flaws, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is a fun, gruesome, violent popcorn film that has some great setpieces and a few good laughs. 4/5 stars.
(Editorial note, March 26, 2013: After further thought and a re-watching, I bring my rating down to 3 stars, for schlock value,)
(Images: Goole and Wikipedia)
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