Starting prior to the proceedings in Snow White and The Huntsman, Winter’s War is the tale of the evil Queen from that movie Ravenna (Charlize Theron) and her sister Freya (Emily Blunt), who becomes pregnant through her affair with a local nobleman who is with another, however once the child is born they agree to meet and marry in secret. Ravenna finds out that this child (similar to Snow White in the first movie) is set to take Ravennas role and fairest of them all so this sends her into a rage and she extracts revenge is the most evil of ways which turns Freya into a bitter ice maiden, much akin to the snow queen from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, who retreats to the lands in the North where she takes children and raises them as her Huntsmen (or hunts persons to be non sexist) to do her bidding. Two of these children are Eric (Chris Hemsworth) and Sara (Jessica Chastain) who are the top dogs in this band of soldiers and as they grow up they develop feelings which is an issue since Freya seems feelings of love as a weakness and despises their happiness so they need to keep their romance hidden but of course this is a futile action and Freya tears them apart.

The film then switches to seven years later, after the events in the first movie, and Snow White’s now husband William asks for Eric help in tracking down the magic mirror which has been stolen and has the power to destroy the lands if it falls into the wrong hands, in this case Freya. So Eric is joined by some dwarves, for comic relief purposes of course, and at one point along the way is rescued by his, thought to be dead wife, Sara who agrees to help him and thus ensues a CGI laden romp to recover the magic mirror.

While slightly more enjoyable, mainly down to the additional star power in the acting,  than the first movie there is still something lacking and off putting about this film but it’s difficult to pinpoint why. With a cast of Theron, Blunt, Chastain and Hemsworth I would have expected a summer blockbuster. Both Rob Brydon and Sheridan Smith add good comedy moments in their roles as dwarves and the action scenes, although a bit over the top with CGI, are generally good. Perhaps it’s because it’s all been done before that the film feels empty.

While worth a watch, don’t expect anything exceptional and you will find yourself noticing similarities between this and many other movies (Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters, Lord of The Rings, Frozen, Brave etc) as you watch it but overall it’s a waste of some great acting talent and, just like the first movie it feels like it was another wasted opportunity.

I will give a mention to the excellent end credit song, Castle by Halsey, which is well worth a listen.

DJ Speaks Rating: 5 Out Of 10