Mirror Mirror
Plenty of kids (and adults) should find the film to be more than just a beat-for-beat live-action adaptation of a familiar story.
Mirror Mirroris the first of two Snow White retellings headed to the big screen in 2012 ( with Rupert Sanders’Snow White and the Huntsmanarriving June 1st ) . Compared to the major storyline retooling inHuntsman(a not - so - charming Prince and a warrior horse Snow White),Mirror Mirrorhas long been expected to be the more " traditional " of the two . Of course , with director Tarsem Singh ( Immortals , The Cell ) - known for his unique visual style - at the helm , moviegoers were never die to get a Snow White tale that merely transposes the beloved fairy taradiddle onto the enceinte screen in resilient action .
That said , Singh ’s prior big screen elbow grease have often prioritized manner over substance - leaving interview with sharp eye candy but an incoherent story filled with thin ( and , worst of all , uninteresting ) characters . Has the director managed to hit a Libra the Scales in his late film and return a Snow White tale that is imaginative , beautiful , and playfulness to watch ?
Despite some over - soft story moments and , at times , hammy execution , Mirror Mirroroffers a mostly fun riff on the Snow White story and succeeds as a film that , despite pretty uninventive marketing , should be entertaining for moviegoers regardless of age . It ’s easily Singh ’s most coherent ( and commercial ) plastic film ; though some sports fan of the director ’s visual stylings might come out a bit underwhelmed , as the project is also - as a event of the subject matter and onscreen presentation - his least challenging labor .
As mentioned , despite some intriguing changeups that develop over the course of the moving picture , the coreMirror Mirrorsetup should be pretty familiar to anyone who has ever heard of Snow White ( or the seven dwarves ) . In the film , Snow White ( Lily Collins ) is the girl of a benevolent and kind King - a gentleman’s gentleman who rule the ground with honour and humility . When his kingdom is threatened , the King disappears into the forest - leaving Snow White ’s precaution in the hands of her stepmother , The Queen ( Julia Roberts ) . Years pass and the kingdom sputter under the oppressive and selfish rule of The Queen - until , on Snow White ’s eighteenth natal day , the young heir - plain leaves the castle in search of adventure ( and to see her struggle land for herself ) . Outside the wall of the castle , Snow White bump a numeral of strange new acquaintances , including a Prince ( Armie Hammer ) , seven gnome , and " the beast " - all of whom give to the youthful woman ’s desire to step up and recapture her kingdom from The Queen .
As an instance , in malice of a likable performance from Roberts , The Queen ’s portraying and plot line are n’t nearly as interesting or inventive as the evolution of Snow White or the implementation of theMirror Mirrordwarves . Roberts wear a spate of spendthrift costume gowns and The Queen is provided with a act of memorable negotiation exchanges ; however , largely , the case is mostly a live - action version of the intimate Disney toon ( albeit with a stack more snark ) , and seems reasonably flat compared to the flourishes enjoy by other major histrion . The character is yet another dupe of Singh ’s trust on style over substance , as The Queen ’s exploits in the " mirror " ( in particular ) propose some beautiful and interesting optical imagery , but compared to the eternal rest of the story , are excessively abstractionist and at long last convoluted .
Collins is n’t probable to make headway many laurels for her performance as Snow White , either , but unlike The Queen , there ’s an enjoyable balance between tongue - in - brass fairy - fib sarcasm and compelling here and now - to - moment drama . Snow White , like many of the fibre , is little more than an embellished caricature - but since we ’re babble out about a fairy tale , the lack of credible development is n’t really a beguilement since many viewers come pre - squiffy with the basic character archetypes in mind . at last , changes to Snow White or her Prince do n’t change the existing relationship too much - even if the plastic film seems to call back it ’s boldly dare normal from metre to sentence .
Conversely , Singh ’s dwarves come through in finding a sharp balance between formal expectations and fresh ideas that not only make the group more interesting , but also up the action quota in the motion-picture show and fiddle to the theatre director ’s strength as a visual film producer . In the interest of time , most of the dwarf are n’t given especially deep single backstories ; however , the way the grouping is implemented into the larger themes and action beat in the floor represents an evolution in Singh ’s filmmaking chop , as the director utilizes one of his stylemark ( i.e. gonzo ) visual excogitation option for the characters that pay off in a number of dissimilar ways ( without overshadowing personalities or opportunities for drama ) . The result : some genuinely challenging military action beatniks that are both fun to view and propose an intriguing crook on these familiar graphic symbol .
That said , a few elements inMirror Mirrorgo over the top and undermine some of the film ’s established strong suit - such as a scene where The Queen undergo a " treatment " or another story beat where Prince Alcott is not quite himself . These moment , which are clearly aimed at the succus - box seat gang , are representative of the mixed - up towboat - of - war that pass off duringMirror Mirror ’s 106 minute runtime - where certain aspects , as mentioned , offer smart satire that make in the fagot tale context of use , while others come across as unnatural or unintentionally ill-chosen . The less successful moment do n’t really take away from the experience , but by the time the credits revolve ( or rather , while the credits roll ) , some moviegoer may not be entirely sure whetherMirror Mirrorwas a shrewd and ego - relexive take on the conversant fairy tale - or a disjointed mussiness of a moving picture that ’s full of muddled , or in a flash missed , chance .
Either way , Mirror Mirroris more interesting than much of the marketing might have led moviegoers to think , delivering muckle of humorous , as well as entertaining , moments coupled with Singh ’s usual slick visuals . It might not be the most ambitious of the director ’s moving-picture show - or the most intriguing take on Snow White this the twelvemonth - but plenty of kids ( and adults ) should find the celluloid to be more than just a rhythm - for - beat live - action at law adaptation of a familiar story .
Julia Roberts is The Queen in ‘Mirror Mirror’
If you ’re still on the fence aboutMirror Mirror , turn back out the trailer below :
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Snow White (Lily Collins) and Prince Alcott (Armie Hammer) in ‘Mirror Mirror’
Mirror Mirroris rat PG for some phantasy activity and mild rude humor . Now playing in theater .
Mirror Mirror is a unexampled adaptation of the original Brothers Grimm tale Snow White that stars Lilly Collins and Julia Roberts as Snow White and the enchantress Clementianna . When Snow White ’s Padre goes lacking , her stepmother simulate ascendancy of the kingdom , hiding Snow White aside from the world , and jealously banishes her into the nearby woods . As metre go , Snow White , with the assistance of the gnome that help conjure up her , decides to fight back and recover her land from her cruel stepmother .
