The story of Hansel and Gretel is an interesting one to kick start an action film. It is a shame then that writer/director Tommy Wirkola has not put it to good use. Under all the outrageousness on display there is a decent premise and what could have been a really good action film. There is a common misconception that young people have short attention spans so the film moves along at a really quick pace. I think if Tommy had slowed down a bit he could have given Hansel & Gretel a bit more characterization and therefore come across as more than just two dimensional characters. The set up of the story with the fairytale is done really quickly when it would have been nice to see a bit more. While I understand that we are familiar with the story and being held captive by a witch is a traumatic event, knowing more about the event would have helped. The one clever thing I found was that Hansel is now a diabetic because of all the candy he ate when held captive. That was an excellent trait which has an impact on the story. Don't get me started on the fact that this is a film set in Germany but Hansel has an American accent and Gretel has an English accent. I will say that most of the action is well done and has a certain silliness which I found enjoyable.
Both Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton look like they are having fun with the film. Jeremy has done so many action films lately that he can do this type of thing in his sleep. I'd like to see him do something a bit different. On the other hand we don't always see Gemma do this type of film and it suits her. Famke Janssen makes an excellent villain and she manages to make her character scary despite all the over the top behavior.
It is not a good example for continuing the trend of fairytale movies. There is a certain amount of fun to be had but don't expect much depth.
No comments:
Post a Comment