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Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)



Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)




4/10



Starring
Jeremy Renner
Gemma Arterton
Famke Janssen
Pihla Viitala


Directed by Tommy Wirkola

The movie starts off promising and ends up disappointing. It’s meant to be a cross between action, horror, and comedy, but forget about the last two (horror and comedy). The jokes just fly over your head, and the horror scenes will make you yawn. My main problem with the movie is the cursing (which, mind you, was few), but before any of the lead characters use the f-word, there’s this pause, and the camera focuses on their face, giving the f-word a grand entrance, as if the word is holy. My final take is that this movie is just a set-up for a sequel, and it’s borderline crap.

The plot adds a new spin to the fairy tale, with Hansel & Gretel (Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton, respectively) as bounty hunters who track and kill witches. In a town where children are being taken by witches, the duo is called to investigate. They come across a plot by the witches involving the Blood Moon, and the siblings face an evil that holds the secret to their past.

The movie is written and directed by Tommy Wirkola, a Norwegian who makes a living making action horror flicks. This crap-piece is his first big-budget film. He’s noted to have said that he was surprised (and so am I) that the big Hollywood studios went for the movie, calling his script a “rock n’ roll script.” The script is rock ‘n’ roll alright—rolling down to the gutter. It’s a script that made me want to puke, with bad continuity from one scene to the next. It’s just topsy-turvy, with nothing going straight. You’re left wondering why some things are happening. And forget about the twist—the movie is predictable.

I’ve seen better movies in my life, and if this was a B-movie, it would have been better off. I can’t even imagine the cost of the CGI from the huge $50 million budget. The CGI and stunts are cool, but everything else will make you want to smash the screen.

What I advise any movie watcher to do is not bother seeing this movie. Try watching something else. There are no surprises, no wow moments, no story depth—nothing. Just a bunch of people running around, feeling cool, killing witches.

The sad thing is that bad guys narrating their entire evil plot to the hero instead of just killing them straight away is an outdated practice. So I was surprised to see it here. Please don’t watch this.


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