Snow White goes dark

The juxtaposition between good and evil has never been so striking than in Rupert Sanders' Snow White and the Huntsman, starring Twilight's Kristen Stewart in the title role of the princess and well known actress Charleze Theron as her step mother and malevolent evil queen.

From the producers of Alice in Wonderland, the epic action-adventure film Snow White and the Huntsman which was released on May 30th 2012, explores the wonders of computer graphics and really shines as a beautifully produced work of art.

When watching the film, however, the most striking aspects remain in the narrative, which is perfectly adapted from the 1937 Walt Disney version to create a contemporary take on the well known fairytale.

Beautiful and innocent, Kristen Stewart plays Snow White, who's step mother murdered her father to become an all-powerful queen. Since then, she has been held prisoner in a tower and is the only person in the land who is fairer than the Queen Ravenna, who is out to destroy her for the reward of never ending youth. When the Queen sends her brother to order Snow to her death, she escapes, and finds her way into the Dark Forest, where she is guaranteed death.

However, with all the help she could need from the Huntsman and of course, some lovable dwarfs, Snow White is able to escape from the the evil grasp of Queen Ravenna, by stabbing her in the heart, becoming Queen and returning the kingdom to its former glory when her father was king.

The beautiful production makes even the likes of Twilight look dated, and Kristen Stewart's acting is even stronger in the role of the princess which suits her like no other role I have ever seen her in - even her fake British accent is convincing.

The film's beauty is further emphasised by its hair-raising soundtrack 'Breath of Life' by Florence and The Machine, which compliments the film's modern, quirky style and reinforces the refreshing female strength and dominance within the narrative.

One criticism could be the glossing over of some background information about some of the characters, such as Queen Ravenna, which could have been expanded much further. However, the 127 minute long film would struggle to be any longer, unless it wanted it's cinema going audiences' bums becoming numb.

Overall, the film was superbly made and is definitely one to watch this summer, guaranteeing that even the skeptics will be proved wrong.

8/10