Film Filter: Off- I had chalked this film up to being as close to the bottom of the barrel as possible before I pushed play, but I have to say that (given my extraordinarily low expectations) it surpassed my initial judgment.
Pros- First off, it was produced by Will Ferrell. It went like this, (about 2 minutes into the opening credits) "Woah, rewind that." "Why?" "Just do it." "Ok." "See, I was right! Will Ferrell!" That may seem trivial, but I will say that knowing that he had a hand in the production shed a lot of light on the film and some of its idiosyncrasies.
Speaking of the opening credits, I thought they were very well executed (pun intended). They creatively and effectively laid out the main idea of the story while also moving the credits along. It was a small victory, but it did not go unnoticed.
Although there were parts that felt a wee bit contrived, I have to say that unlike most films, the dialogue felt natural and most of the character relationships worked well too. That being said, none of the above were appropriate for the time period of the film, but if the intent was a modernized tone in an antiquated setting, we have a winner. If not, well, better luck next time, Ron Burgundy.
The pacing of this film was nearly flawless. It gave enough background information to allow the story to have a reference point, and that back story was alluded to many times throughout the film as well. The movie also did a good job of mixing the action with the plot; it interchanged between the two pretty evenly.
Lastly, they took a well known story and innovated it brilliantly. Perhaps there were nuances that were not preferred by some audiences, but it can't be denied that the strategy of taking a fairy tale classic and retelling it with the victims as badass heroes is a unique, and fun take to witness on-screen. Sure, there were definitely moments of predictability and cheesiness, but this movie was refreshing in its ability to recreate a story without boring us to tears.
Oh, did I mention Famke Jensen? Rawwr.
Cons-
Despite being horribly cute and formidably badass, the poor-man's-Rachel-Weisz of a lead actress got kind of annoying. She was too confrontational, which definitely ended up getting her into trouble. As tough as she was, she attempted to take on a pack of 5 or 6 pissed off grown men and she had no weapon. To top it all off, she bites the sheriff's nose as he's trying to talk to her. Granted, the guy was a total douchebag, but an intelligent young woman would have tried to coax her way out, then fight them off., not just flail around uncontrollably with no plan. Tsk, tsk.
My next annoyance is the lack of accountability of Hansel. She was getting the shit kicked out of her, was nearly sexually assaulted while Hansel is...banging some hot witch in a pond. Real brotherly love, right there. Moreover, when they finally meet up again, she never asks where we was. Lucky for him, I guess, since she probably would have bitten his nose off too if she knew the truth.
The last con I have is more of an overlying theme. There is almost an unnecessary amount of f bombs dropped in this movie, which is fine when in the right context. In this film, however, they appear amidst a sea of corny, predictable, one liners. Ewww. Curse words are like plastic surgery; if they won't enhance what's already there, they are pointless.
Wrap up- This movie leaves no loose ends, has a lot of action, and adds ingenuity to a story we all love to hate. It not only ties up its own loose ends, but those of the original fairy tale as well. As long as you don't take this film any more seriously than you would take a Will Ferrell movie, I think you're in for a treat.
