Julia or Charlize, who is better at being the Evil Queen?

Well, the problem with this story is that there is not much to it. It's only a fairy tale with few things happening so whenever a film based on Snow White is produced a lot of creativity has to be put in order to fill the standard one hour and forty five minutes most movies last. This also means that every interpretation will imply a lot of liberties in order to deliver a story that Holliwood producers may  find potentially profitable. 

The version with Julia Roberts is a family movie. There is humor, no unnecessary epic battles, no real violence; there is a Snow White that actually looks innocent, and no loose ends. The story moves at a good pace and the acting of most of the cast is acceptable with Julia Roberts being the natural star. Without her it would be just another movie. It's just a matter of seing her acting. She is the one that makes that movie interesting and her actions keep the film going. In fact at the beginning the witch queen announces the movie is about her and not Snow White. So true: the parts that do not include her are the boring parts.
The other version, the one with Charlize Teron, is that of a very cruel person who has become so because circumstances forced her to embrace evil and is in many ways a victim of herself. This film, Snow White and The Huntsman, is darker in essence and much more epic with a Snow White that does not hesitate to don an armor and lead an army to reclaim her castle. There are also lots of facts left unexplained such as that of the kingdom the queen belonged to before, and the real connection between her brother and her which has, at times, incestuous connotations. The queen is depicted as a mixture of a powerful enchantress and some sort of vampire that feeds on the juvenile energy of her victims. She also hates all men and wants (how original!) to conquer the world. The mirror is also a distinct element in each story. in Mirror, mirror the image in the queen's mirror is that of herself but acts and speaks as though it were a separate individual and in order to talk to it the queen first has to go through a portal that takes her to another part of the world or another reality (that is never explained). In  Snow White and The Huntsman, the mirror  is an extension of a wong dish that appears in human form and that only the queen can see.There is also the figure of the Huntsman. What is his purpose? Why is it there? In the end, the story could have been told without him. 
I would say that both films are not excellent but only acceptable with essential differences. More than a family film Snow White and The Huntsman is an epic story without the typical ending of the boy marrying the girl replaced by the scene of Snow White's ascension to the throne. I like Charlize Theron's presence and her acting really delivers, but in the end Julia is just one step ahead of everyone and everything else.                                                        

Comments

Einsen said…
another fairy tale movie?? seriously? im fed up of re-makes, even if they make a great movie, or change the basis... come on! get original again hollywood!!
July 26, 2012 at 7:33 PM
Luis Bermudes said…
Hard to do, old habits die hard they say.
July 28, 2012 at 8:24 PM
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