You were expecting Moliere?

Rating: 5/10 (18 November 2014)

Didn't you always wonder what became of Hansel & Gretel after the witch killing covered by the fairy tale? No? OK, but wouldn't it be cool to take that fairy tale and marry it with a Stallone/schwarzenegger 80's action movie? No? OK, just shut off your frontal cortex and stare at the clearly demarcated good / bad guys and the inventive period sets and watch the action. With a name like "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" you get what you pay for, a short, self-conscious, action movie which doesn't worry about placing girls with machine guns in a medieval story without electric lights. Penicillin hasn't been discovered but insulin has luckily in time to save the likable and watchable Jeremy Renner. Only somewhat hiding his disdainful amusement for the proceedings Renner's Hansel drinks and carouses his way along with the innocuous Gemma Arteon who looks good against pretty nice sets for a moderately budgeted film. That budget paid for digital efforts better rendered than some films with 3 times the budget and the fights (and basically this is just a string of hunter vs witch battle royales) are clearly choreographed and follow-able. In short, "H&S: WH" doesn't rise above dumb entertainment but it doesn't disappoint either.