Snow White and the Huntsman is an epic, allegorical fairy tale in the vein of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia Chronicles. It extols the triumph of good over evil in two hours of jam-packed fun, graced with superb performances, fabulous costuming and effective special effects that add to a tightly written script, strong directing and a gripping story.
This new twist on the dark, age-old tale, thoughtfully and artfully infused with explicit Christian values and allegorical symbolism, is sure to delight many moviegoers and perhaps be a big hit with teenagers and adults. Caution is warranted for intense action violence, some scary elements and the evil queen’s dark villainy.
Once upon a time, in a far away land, an evil witch (Charlize Theron) murders her husband the king, usurps the throne and imprisons his daughter. But, this is no ordinary queen. She is a sorceress, bound by a spell to triumph over men and remain the fairest of them all by sucking the life out of young girls and eating their hearts.
Imagine her horror, then, when her magic mirror reveals one day that someone has come of age who surpasses her beauty and is endowed with the purest heart of all: Snow White (Kristen Stewart), her stepdaughter. And yet, the mirror adds, if the queen were to eat her rival’s heart, she would become immortal and secure her physical appearance for all eternity.
Enraged, the queen sends her brother to retrieve her stepdaughter, but Snow White escapes into the dark forest. Beside herself with anger, the evil queen orders a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) to track her down and bring her back. In exchange for this deed, she tricks him into believing she can bring his dead wife back to life.
Spoiler Alert: If you don’t want to know any more about the movie, you want to stop reading here.
However, the huntsman is won over by Snow White’s purity and beauty, as well as her plea for help. He promises to lead her across the dark forest to the home of her uncle the duke. There, they can rejoin the army and hatch a plan to vanquish the queen and restore hope and fertility to the land.
That is Snow White’s destiny—to be a vessel for healing and the triumph of good over evil. To accomplish this, like Joan of Arc, she must don her chain mail and ride out to battle in the name of everything that’s good and righteous.
Snow White and the Huntsman is graced with beautiful cinematography, superb pacing, a gripping score, a tight script, great directing and fantastic acting. This is an exciting and thrilling movie. Best of all, the movie is artfully infused with overt and symbolic Christian elements that will delight media-wise viewers.
Snow White’s defeat of the evil queen proves the movie’s premise that the human soul in service to the Christian God can act as a vessel for God’s will in overcoming the demonic forces of darkness or evil. However, some caution is advised due to the evil queen’s dark villainy, the intense action and epic battle scenes reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings movies and likely to scare younger viewers.
