Tommy Wirkola is the latest international director to make his jump to English-language filmmaking. After making his mark with Norwegian horror comedy Dead Snow, Wirkola has delivered Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, a gleefully silly and surprisingly gory new spin on the classic fairy tale that starts where the story we know traditionally finishes.
We follow the titular Hansel and Gretel, played by Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton respectively, brother and sister orphans who have grown up to be a duo of witch hunting guns for hire hell-bent on destroying every witch they come across. They’re hired by the mayor of a small town plagued by witches who have kidnapped almost a dozen children, lead by “grand witch” Muriel (Famke Janssen).
There’s no getting around the fact that this is silly stuff, bordering on parody in places. How much of that is intentional or not is unclear – there are moments which have a knowing ring to them, such as Hansel being diabetic as a result of eating from the witch’s house made of sweets – among the sea of over-the-top set pieces, occasionally dodgy CGI and redundant, murky 3D. But it leads to a strangely enjoyable experience if you’re willing to buy into the ludicrous set-up, one that doesn’t waste much of its short 88 minute runtime, however shallow it may be.
Seemingly brought together because both are on the hot list right now, Renner and Arterton crucially have good chemistry with one another and seem to be reveling in just cutting loose for a film that never takes itself too seriously. Arterton is surprisingly gung-ho, going against what’s been expected of her up until this point (though the movie still can’t resist in plopping her down in generic damsel in distress situations), while Renner spits the often genuinely quippy one-liners like they’re going of out fashion.
Unfortunately the movie seems hell bent on separating them consistently throughout. It’s at its strongest when the two are together doing what they do best with big guns, explosives and fancy contraptions to destroy every witch they can, brought to life with poppy energetic visuals with a significantly bigger price tag than Wirkola’s cult Nazi zombie flick. Bigger isn’t necessarily better but it works on this occasion. Peter Stormare, although underused, is always a pleasure to watch and Famke Janssen is clearly having a blast chewing up the scenery as the deadliest witch of this particular supernatural story.
The upcoming Jack the Giant Slayer may be the more suitable new twist on a well known fictional bedtime story for the younger audiences out there, while Hansel & Gretel is more for adults who fondly remember the stories from childhood but are now after something with a bit more blood pumping through the action veins (before it explodes everywhere!).
There’s a more substantial fantasy twist to be made out of the classic Brothers Grimm tale but being ill-served by a thinly plotted script Witch Hunters is ultimately content with skimping on the meat and going for spectacle. As a result it’s not the most memorable of blockbusters but a decent bit of campy, violent and gory fun nonetheless.
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