Monstrous female creatures, ninja fighting, maximum firepower, 3D effects, gory deaths

Rating: 6/10 (13 March 2013)

This movie is a fairy-tale remake with Tarantinoesque violence. If you're even remotely thinking of going to this movie, please get it out of your head completely that this movie is for children. Or faithful to the Grimm Brothers tale. Or historically or culturally accurate in any way whatsoever. Or logical and realistic.
Wirkola's movie is about monstrous female creatures, ninja fighting, maximum firepower, 3D effects, and showing gory deaths in as many bloody ways as possible.
The gore is not of the toe-curdling kind, but of the cartoonish movie variety. When a head gets squashed, the camera doesn't show the details or linger.
The closest similar movie that comes to mind is Rodriguez's "From Dusk to Dawn". The emotional maturity and intellectual depth of "Hansel and Gretel" are at about the same levels as "Xena: Warrior Princess" or "Hercules: Legendary Journeys", only this movie is a lot more violent and vulgar.
Strangely, religion is almost completely absent from this witch movie. I suppose that would only complicate things.
Our heroes have superhuman fighting skills, but this is not explained.
The witches in this movie are theoretically not human women, but they were portrayed as hideous, deformed female humanoids who sort of looked like women, and they were all butchered with abandon and glee. The witches are frightening and have superhuman powers, but it didn't stop them from getting killed by the dozens.
The political incorrectness of this movie was bothering me within the first five minutes. Has anyone else pointed this out already? Thank god they brought out the white witches. And the movie takes a stance against witch-hunts involving the phony witches or the good witches. You see, it's only the EVIL witches who should be burned alive, shot like dogs, or beheaded. This movie is meant to appeal to your lizard brain.
Still it was sort of fun. And some of the Imax 3D effects were excellent. I actually ducked a few times.