Directed by Tommy Wirkola, it is based on the well known Grimm fairy-tale by the same name. With stars such as Jeremy Renner as Hansel and Gemma Arterton as Gretel, one would think that it is sure to be a hit.
This version of Hansel & Gretel follows the original story to a point, where Hansel & Gretel are taken by their father into the forest and left there to die. After a while they become hungry and start wondering, until they come upon a cottage deep in the woods made entirely of candy.
Their hunger overcomes them and they start eating the house until the door opens and a very mean looking witch hauls them inside. Gretel is put to work on the oven, fanning the flames to make them hotter, while Hansel is locked in a cage and being fed copious amounts of candy to fatten him up to be the main course. When its time for the witch's dinner, the kids fight back and push the witch into the oven until she is dead. This is as far as the similarities go.
At this point the story jumps until Hansel & Gretel are older and are well known witch hunters.
Here the story starts to get a little predictable. The good guys (Hansel & Gretel) are searching for the bad guys (evil witches). Blah, blah, blah....
Needless to say, Hansel falls in love with a good witch, who helps them defeat the bad witches. Following a major battle with the evil witches, the true story of why their father abandoned them in the forest comes to light. Sorry no spoiler!
While the story was predictable and at times unbelievable, especially the weapons portrayed throughout the movie. Not that I was around in the 15th century, but I found it hard to believe the advanced weaponry used to defeat the witches.
Nevertheless, the movie was enjoyable; however as I saw it in 3D it was very fast paced and somewhat hard to keep up with.
I would re-watch this movie in 2D but only to see if it was more palatable in this format.
The most surprising act was that of Famke Janssen as Muriel, the head of the evil witches. For those of you who don't know who she is, she is best known for her role as Jean Grey in the X-Men movies. I thought she played the role of the evil witch with great poise and believability.
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