Going into this movie I really thought it was going to suck. Seriously, after buying my ticket I thought "Welp, there goes $13.50 down the drain...let's go get some popcorn." Surprisingly though, Hansel & Gretel impressed me. I wasn't all that enthused by the cast when I first saw the trailer. Jeremy Renner playing Hansel and Gemma Arterton playing his sister did NOT excite me. Mainly because Gemma is from the UK and has a distinct accent, while Jeremy, her supposed brother is from wonderful Modesto, California. I wondered with a smile just how the producers and the director was going to work that little issue out. Come to find out Gemma is decent at hiding or masking her accent. She still sounds nothing like a California girl (I wish they all could be) but it's not as bad as one would imagine. Secondly, the story about two kids lost in the woods who kill a witch who lives in a house made of candy doesn't quite thrill, but I sat my butt in that seat and shoveled some killer korn in my mouth and watched. What I saw wasn't at all that bad.
The story starts off with or course, Hansel & Gretel being left in the woods by their father. You have no idea why they are, and there father never returns for them like he said he would. They are on their own and since they are both tired and hungry, they wander the forest until the come upon a house made of candy. They knock but no one answers so they start to eat the candy, that's when the doors open and the witch inside plans to cook and eat them. Gretel fights back while Hansel is being fattened up for cooking. Needless to say, the siblings fight, they win, and they burn the witch alive. Fast forward to many years later, and now Hansel and his sister Gretel are with hunters. They go from town to town, rescuing the children that were taken and destroying the witch responsible and they are very successful at it.
They are called into this little town by the Mayor, played by Rainer Bock much to the chagrin of the sheriff, played by Peter Stormare. He wants to hunt down and kill the witches himself but he takes a backseat to the dynamic duo of witch slayers. They come into town just in the nick of time to save the lovely Mina, played by Pihla Viitala. She's about to be burned at the stake for being accused as a witch. What she is is actually the emotional core of the movie. The movie also stars Famke Jensen (of who I am a huge fan) who plays Muriel, the head witch. She and two cohorts are kidnapping children, 6 boys and 6 girls. Each kidnapped child is born on a different month in the year because according to witch lore, during a blood moon, if these children are sacrificed then witches can be unharmed by fire ever again. It would render them almost invincible.
Throughout the movie, the witches magic works on everyone BUT Hansel & Gretel which is why they are so brave in going after witches, you find out why as the movie tells of their childhood. I won't give any plot points away but I will say this, it is a very interesting story twist. It's one you can almost see coming but it's told in such a way that just...makes sense. Hansel & Gretel are also joined by their biggest fan on the hunt for Muriel, his name is Ben who's played by Thomas Mann. He's fresh off his turn in two teenage party movies, Project X and Fun Size and honestly, he feels out of place here. Now I saw the movie in 2D instead of 3D and I would recommend 2D because 3D looks like it would be super corny. Besides, a 3D ticket is more expensive and not really worth it. Not in this case anyway.
The films look is cheesy but you get pass that, the acting is a bit over the top but you can get pass that as well. The score by Atli Orvasson and overseen by Hans Zimmer, while boring most of the time does have its moments that really works well with the film. All in all, Hansel & Gretel isn't a bad film, and if it does any real recouping at the box office, you can look forward to a sequel. And maybe that's when they will fill in some of the gaping plot holes in this film. If you can overlook those, and you will, then Hansel & Gretel might just be worth your dollar and I'll see you at the theater.
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