Repeating the war between films with similar themes competing in the same year like what was observed with "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon" which used natural disaster to unleash the fear in 1998, "The Illusionist" and "The Prestige" both released in 2006 which were period pieces about magicians, and more recently "No Strings Attached" and "Friends With Benefits" in 2011 about commitment phobic couples, comes this year's fresh battle for Snow White in the form of Relativity Media's "Mirror Mirror" and Universal Pictures' "Snow White And The Huntsman". So before the two movies hits our screens this year, let us peel the layers of the poison apple to help you decide who will emerge the fairest of them all!
Snow White And The Huntsman: Based on the trailer, this 'Snow White' adaptation seems to cater for the much older crowd lest one wants the young ones to get nightmares with Charlize Theron's Sauron ("Lord Of The Rings") like persona as the Evil Queen. It is noticeably darker and sinister as seems to be action packed with battle as well as quite a number of scenes of Theron looking mighty deadly as the gothic ruler, while Kristen Stewart tries to be heroic and armour clad while her ally the huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) is a gritty guy who teaches her the art of war. Like Ying and Yang, "Huntsman" contrasts "Mirror" with its dark hues and "Joan Of Arc" feel. Mirror Mirror: Coming across as a friendly PG-rated movie that everyone can enjoy, the concept of the trailer brings a colourful yet classic Disney feel into a full-fledged live-action movie. It introduces us to Lily Collins as an innocently sweet Snow White, Julia Roberts as the sarcastic Evil Queen and Prince Charming Armie Hammer, who honestly, comes across as a complete goofball. Complete with director Tarsem Singh's style of lush sets and unique costumes "Mirror Mirror" seems to be more character driven rather than the use of CGI effects.
Snow White And The Huntsman: By the looks of it, armour Kristen Stewart is far off as the main attraction of the "Huntsman" and critics are dubious if she has the chops to play a tougher version of Snow White, or even the chops to act to begin with. Her infamous lack of expressions may be limiting and predictable, but who knows? This may be the type of 'feminist' roles that are much suited for Stewart. Mirror Mirror: Staying as close as possible to the original "Snow White", the daughter of Phil Collins is more likely to burst into song if a bird lands on her arm, and has all the qualities needed to play the lead what with her skin as white as snow, hair that's black as night and her stand out feature - eyebrows. Collins who was cast after Saoirse Ronan was dropped, also has a band of cute little dwarves to help her hide from the Queen.
Snow White And The Huntsman: Thor is in it! Ok, although it's unclear if Chris Hemsworth's huntsman character plays a romantic interest to Snow White, or is merely there to guide her as an mentor for battle, it is obvious that he plays a crucial role in the movie. What's sure though that the hunk sports a dark do instead of glorious blonde locks, and has big shoes to fill especially since mega-hunks like Johnny Depp, Viggo Mortensen and Hugh Jackman turned down the role. Mirror Mirror: While the other is 'Thor', this one's a 'Hammer'. We first knew of Armie Hammer who played both the Winklevoss twins in "The Social Network" and despised them for 'their' privileged jock like characters. In "Mirror" Hammer is Prince Andrew who fits all the right qualities as Prince Charming; tall, handsome and rich. Although he is pursued by the Queen for his riches, Hammer doesn't stray just to being perfect as he may win some fans over with his goofball demeanour after being cursed by the Queen.
Snow White And The Huntsman: Charlize Theron alone will be the reason why many would want to watch the movie. The actress exudes beauty with evil so pure in concentrated form that it gives one a shudder merely looking at her. Here's a gist of how evil she is; she wants to kill Snow White to consume her heart for immortality and can transform into a flock of black birds at will. It's all seriousness here boys, make way for the female Sauron. Mirror Mirror: How evil can sweet romantic comedy queen Julia Roberts be? From the trailer, it seems that she only wants to get rid of Snow White so that she can have the handsome prince and his riches all to herself to compensate for her dwindling funds rather than obsessing too much over her adversary. Sure she's sarcastic and has some quirky one-liners in store, but one thing is for sure, in a battle of evil between Roberts and Theron, the latter is the one you don't want to mess with.
Snow White And The Huntsman: The dark and gritty look of the movie sets the tone of its visuals and costumes as well as what we can expect from it. Everything is dark, armour clad or drowned in dull drabs (except in Theron's case who is crowned with intricate jewels or white liquid when she takes a bath). What we can expect from the cinematography is definitely less eye-popping colour and more battle scenes that have that familiar "Lord Of The Rings" feel. Mirror Mirror: Those who are familiar with Tarsem Singh's work would know that the director relies heavily on the visual effects that his movies offer such as "The Fall", "The Cell" and most recently "Immortals". The same can also be said for "Mirror", as it has that similar twinge of artistic cinematography that's synonymous to his name. It seems that the movie will play heavily on the fairytale elements and will also feature a Bollywood dance number.