Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
A Movie Review by Dave Randal
Genre: Action | Fantasy | HorrorCast: Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen, Derek MearsDirector: Tommy WirkolaWriter: Tommy WirkolaStudio: Gary Sanchez Productions, Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MTV FilmsDistributed by: Paramount PicturesRelease Date: January 25, 2013Plot: In this spin on the fairy tale, Hansel & Gretel are now bounty hunters who track and kill witches all over the world. As the fabled Blood Moon approaches, the siblings encounter a new form of evil that might hold a secret to their past.
It is becoming sort of a fad to make movies and TV shows based off old books and fairy tales. Saying that though I was still extremely surprised to hear that they were making a Hansel and Gretel movie. When I saw the first trailer I was confused by what I was seeing. They basically took the old fairy tale and turned it into a shoot'em up action movie. I wasn't sure what to expect from watching the very bloody red band trailer. Sure it looked mediocre, but it also looked kind of cool at the same time.
The movie is a new spin on the old fairy tale Hansel & Gretel. The story starts out like the original fairy tale and then shows how Hansel and Gretel have become bounty hunters that kill witches all over the world. Kids in a village are being kidnapped by witches and it is up to the witch slaying siblings to rescue them. Along the way they encounter interesting revelations about their past.
There are a lot of good things I can say about this movie and there are also quite a few bad things I can say about this movie. I'll go ahead and start with the good. First of all the special effects are done pretty well. They aren't the greatest I've ever seen, but they looked very slick. The makeup on the evil witches are very colorful and I liked the way they looked. They seemed to be designed pretty well and I felt they kind of had a throwback look to them for some reason.
The two main characters in the movie do alright although neither one of them come even close to knocking it out of the park. Part of that is due to the script and part of that may be because they just didn't care much about this goofy fairy tale action movie. Renner is being pushed as a big star now and I kind of like him, but he comes off very mediocre to me in this movie. I hope he doesn't just get stuck doing mediocre action movies, because he is a pretty decent dramatic actor. I hope he eventually gets a chance to show a bit more of his acting range. Gemma Arterton gives just as mediocre of a performance. She comes off as being on the same level as a Kate Beckinsale or a Milla Jovovich.
One of the biggest things that annoyed me about this movie is that it is hard to tell when it is suppose to take place. If I had to guess it has to be anywhere from about the 1600s to the 1700s. I'm no expert on guns, but I'm pretty sure machine guns were not created until the 19th century. There are a lot of guns used throughout this movie by the two main characters and it helps add to some pretty cool action scenes even if it annoys me that they are there in the first place. They also wear big leather jackets that look liked they had been stolen off the set of The Matrix. Hell, they even had a stun gun tazer for no real reason. I'm surprised the filmmakers just didn't have them drive around in a hummer. I honestly think that the movie could have been a bit better if they had just based it in modern times and had it taken place in a city or a small town. I mean if the filmmakers are going to have so many modern things in this movie they might as well have just based it in 2013.
Overall the movie is alright, but it just barley gets a passing grade from me. The action is pretty cool and the characters are mediocre to decent. The story is okay, but it's not like we haven't seen this similar plot in a ton of other movies. I'm a big fan of original plots and although I think it was a cool idea to make Hansel and Gretel bounty hunters who kill witches, I don't think this movie was near as well thought out as it could have been.
Dave Randal's Rating-
A-Okay
Learn the Randal Rating System
Dave Randal's Star Rating- ★★½(2½) out of ★★★★★(5)
The movie is a new spin on the old fairy tale Hansel & Gretel. The story starts out like the original fairy tale and then shows how Hansel and Gretel have become bounty hunters that kill witches all over the world. Kids in a village are being kidnapped by witches and it is up to the witch slaying siblings to rescue them. Along the way they encounter interesting revelations about their past.
There are a lot of good things I can say about this movie and there are also quite a few bad things I can say about this movie. I'll go ahead and start with the good. First of all the special effects are done pretty well. They aren't the greatest I've ever seen, but they looked very slick. The makeup on the evil witches are very colorful and I liked the way they looked. They seemed to be designed pretty well and I felt they kind of had a throwback look to them for some reason.
The two main characters in the movie do alright although neither one of them come even close to knocking it out of the park. Part of that is due to the script and part of that may be because they just didn't care much about this goofy fairy tale action movie. Renner is being pushed as a big star now and I kind of like him, but he comes off very mediocre to me in this movie. I hope he doesn't just get stuck doing mediocre action movies, because he is a pretty decent dramatic actor. I hope he eventually gets a chance to show a bit more of his acting range. Gemma Arterton gives just as mediocre of a performance. She comes off as being on the same level as a Kate Beckinsale or a Milla Jovovich.
One of the biggest things that annoyed me about this movie is that it is hard to tell when it is suppose to take place. If I had to guess it has to be anywhere from about the 1600s to the 1700s. I'm no expert on guns, but I'm pretty sure machine guns were not created until the 19th century. There are a lot of guns used throughout this movie by the two main characters and it helps add to some pretty cool action scenes even if it annoys me that they are there in the first place. They also wear big leather jackets that look liked they had been stolen off the set of The Matrix. Hell, they even had a stun gun tazer for no real reason. I'm surprised the filmmakers just didn't have them drive around in a hummer. I honestly think that the movie could have been a bit better if they had just based it in modern times and had it taken place in a city or a small town. I mean if the filmmakers are going to have so many modern things in this movie they might as well have just based it in 2013.
Overall the movie is alright, but it just barley gets a passing grade from me. The action is pretty cool and the characters are mediocre to decent. The story is okay, but it's not like we haven't seen this similar plot in a ton of other movies. I'm a big fan of original plots and although I think it was a cool idea to make Hansel and Gretel bounty hunters who kill witches, I don't think this movie was near as well thought out as it could have been.
Dave Randal's Rating-
A-OkayLearn the Randal Rating System
Dave Randal's Star Rating- ★★½(2½) out of ★★★★★(5)
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