Snow White and the Huntsman – review

This is the second indifferent reworking of the Grimm fairy tale this year (the other is Mirror Mirror), both attempting to empower Snow White and escape from Disney. It's largely set in the Dark Forest after Snow White (Kristen Stewart) has escaped from her evil stepmother (a metamorphic Charlize Theron) and a low-born Huntsman saves her from the stepmother's wicked brother. Mirror Mirror features seven authentic dwarves; the eight dwarves in Snow White and the Huntsman are a twinkly-eyed collection of East End diamond geezers led by Ray Winstone, Bob Hoskins and Ian McShane, their size technically manipulated. They resemble a reunion of superannuated department store Santas who've been sleeping rough. The film is a muddy, bloody, violent, overlong sword-and-sorcery affair. Shot on lowering locations in Wales and Ireland, it's stronger on special effects than on magic.