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My Rating:
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REVIEWED: Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2014)
Starring: Jeremy Renner | Gemma Arterton | Famke Janssen | Pihla Viitala | Derek Mears | Robin Atkin Downes Genres: Action | Fantasy | Horror IMDB Synopsis: Hansel & Gretel are 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. |
Here be spoilers.
Jeremy Renner is a hot property in Hollywood these days. His star has been on a fast rise since he received an Oscar nomination for The Hurt Locker in 2008. But since then, he's made some questionable choices in movie projects. No doubt the job offers are pouring in fast and furious, but he's not necessarily picked projects which highlight those acting abilities which almost garnered him an Academy Award five years ago. He's had three movies out in the last year, and only The Avengersseemed to be worthy of him. In fact, his scenes as the conflicted assassin "Hawkeye" were some of the best in the film. Then came The Bourne Legacy, which I listed as one of the worst films of 2012. And now we have Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.
While Hansel and Gretel doesn't sink to the same depths as the Bourne film, it is yet another confusing choice for someone with Renner's pedigree. Is he a serious actor, like we saw in The Hurt Locker? Or is he a second-rate action star, choosing films which seem more appropriate for, say, Brendan Fraser? If he's going for the action star thing, I'm not sure I buy it. He's a rather diminutive guy with a stocky but not necessarily powerful build and looks more like a school teacher than a bad ass. Most of his strutting around in Hansel and Gretel caused me to chuckle. (Of course, the black leather duster and a huge silver blunderbuss I think he stole from the Looper set didn't help!) And I didn't chuckle unkindly – because I really like Jeremy Renner – but rather in the same way I would chuckle at a small boy dressed up in his father's clothing. Somehow, it all seemed beneath him.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is the latest reimagined fairytale for the big screen. (See my list "The Best Reimagined Fairy Tales on Film" for more on this.) This one is the product of Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola with Will Ferrell acting as producer. I'm not familiar with Wirkola's previous films (Kurt Josef Wagle and the Legend of the Fjord Witch, Kill Buljo et al), but judging by their IMDB descriptions he seems to like action comedies. As such, Hansel and Gretel does provide some amusing moments squashed between nearly endless action sequences as the siblings-cum-bounty hunters comb the countryside destroying anything that can cast a spell or ride a broom.
The film bears some comparison to 1992's The Brothers Grimm (2005), also a reimagined fairytale from Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam. Both films deal with a reality-versus-perception of witchcraft in medieval Europe. Both films were critically panned, but Gilliam's was more astute in its handling of the subject matter, mocking the superstition and paranoia of the age. But you don't get anything so layered from Hansel and Gretel. In this film, witches are a fact of life and if a few innocents get trashed in the war against them, well, at least Hansel is okay with that. It's really just an eighty-eight minute bloodbath in which the twosome try to stop a Grand Witch (Famke Jansse) from sacrificing Gretel (Gemma Arterton) to complete a ritual which will make her and her cackling brethren impervious to fire... and really, where's the fun in a witch hunt if you can't light someone up at the end of it?
If there's one saving grace to Hansel and Gretel, it's that the movie doesn't take itself seriously. But it also doesn't rise to the level of becoming a smart parody. The result is a mediocre action film in which Renner especially is underutilized and seems strangely out of place.
I'd skip this one in the theater and hope it comes to Netflix streaming.
Jeremy Renner is a hot property in Hollywood these days. His star has been on a fast rise since he received an Oscar nomination for The Hurt Locker in 2008. But since then, he's made some questionable choices in movie projects. No doubt the job offers are pouring in fast and furious, but he's not necessarily picked projects which highlight those acting abilities which almost garnered him an Academy Award five years ago. He's had three movies out in the last year, and only The Avengersseemed to be worthy of him. In fact, his scenes as the conflicted assassin "Hawkeye" were some of the best in the film. Then came The Bourne Legacy, which I listed as one of the worst films of 2012. And now we have Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.
While Hansel and Gretel doesn't sink to the same depths as the Bourne film, it is yet another confusing choice for someone with Renner's pedigree. Is he a serious actor, like we saw in The Hurt Locker? Or is he a second-rate action star, choosing films which seem more appropriate for, say, Brendan Fraser? If he's going for the action star thing, I'm not sure I buy it. He's a rather diminutive guy with a stocky but not necessarily powerful build and looks more like a school teacher than a bad ass. Most of his strutting around in Hansel and Gretel caused me to chuckle. (Of course, the black leather duster and a huge silver blunderbuss I think he stole from the Looper set didn't help!) And I didn't chuckle unkindly – because I really like Jeremy Renner – but rather in the same way I would chuckle at a small boy dressed up in his father's clothing. Somehow, it all seemed beneath him.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is the latest reimagined fairytale for the big screen. (See my list "The Best Reimagined Fairy Tales on Film" for more on this.) This one is the product of Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola with Will Ferrell acting as producer. I'm not familiar with Wirkola's previous films (Kurt Josef Wagle and the Legend of the Fjord Witch, Kill Buljo et al), but judging by their IMDB descriptions he seems to like action comedies. As such, Hansel and Gretel does provide some amusing moments squashed between nearly endless action sequences as the siblings-cum-bounty hunters comb the countryside destroying anything that can cast a spell or ride a broom.
The film bears some comparison to 1992's The Brothers Grimm (2005), also a reimagined fairytale from Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam. Both films deal with a reality-versus-perception of witchcraft in medieval Europe. Both films were critically panned, but Gilliam's was more astute in its handling of the subject matter, mocking the superstition and paranoia of the age. But you don't get anything so layered from Hansel and Gretel. In this film, witches are a fact of life and if a few innocents get trashed in the war against them, well, at least Hansel is okay with that. It's really just an eighty-eight minute bloodbath in which the twosome try to stop a Grand Witch (Famke Jansse) from sacrificing Gretel (Gemma Arterton) to complete a ritual which will make her and her cackling brethren impervious to fire... and really, where's the fun in a witch hunt if you can't light someone up at the end of it?
If there's one saving grace to Hansel and Gretel, it's that the movie doesn't take itself seriously. But it also doesn't rise to the level of becoming a smart parody. The result is a mediocre action film in which Renner especially is underutilized and seems strangely out of place.
I'd skip this one in the theater and hope it comes to Netflix streaming.
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