The Huntsman: Winter's War

Thor's Chris Hemsworth is as heroic as ever in this Snow White and the Huntsman prequel, although the absence of his original co-star Kristen Stewart leaves a gaping hole in the plot. Charlize Theron returns as the fabulously evil Ravenna, this time in a smaller role alongside Emily Blunt as her sister, Freya. When Freya loses her child, her grief manifests itself in icy superpowers and she raises an army. Hemsworth and Jessica Chastain play her prized warriors who dare fall in love, in the process incurring the queen's chilly wrath. Director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan's film is a slightly uneven ramble through the enchanted woods, and he does his best to disguise the notable absence of Stewart's Snow White. Fortunately, he's a master of visual effects (Oscar nominated for the first film) and again produces a cool, glittering spectacle. He lightens the gloom further with comic turns by Rob Brydon, Nick Frost and Sheridan Smith as dwarfs and inserts slickly edited fight scenes whenever the pace flags. This is no classic, but an amusing twist on the original fairy tale.