This was just spectacular...

Rating: 8/10 (12 August 2013)

Now, why was I under the impression that this would be another of those teenage lovefest movies? It couldn't have been further from the truth. Perhaps that impression came from such movies such as "Twilight" and "Red Riding Hood".
But "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" turned out to be somewhat of a bloody and gory action / horror movie. And it was actually a great combination that worked out quite well. A very different and interesting take on a famous fairytale.
The story is about young Hansel and Gretel who are left in the woods, where they come upon a house made of candy. They are captured by the witch inside and fed candy to fatten them up. But they end up shoving the witch into the oven and killing her. Right, we all know (or should know) this fairytale. However, this movie deals with the siblings after they grew up and became deadly witch hunters.
Right from the very beginning there was adrenaline and action in the movie, and I will say that it actually never slowed down. The movie just kept going on straight ahead like a rampant freight train.
What really impressed me in the movie was the effects and the make-up. That was just off the charts. The witches had so many interesting and nice details that the movie should be watched more than once to take it all in. There was just something profoundly dark and ghastly about them, and it worked out so well. It was a thrill and a pleasure to witness the make-up and effects of the movie.
However, the movie wasn't all about the effects and make-up. The effort and details in the costumes and props as well was just mind-boggling. The whole village really looked real and seemed like something right out of the middle ages.
Well, "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" isn't all just great stuff, there were parts which I didn't really fathom or could fully wrap my head around. First of all, the particular time in which the movie is set, I don't really think that the F-word was around, but oddly enough it was being thrown around quite a lot, and that really brought down the dialogue in the movie a notch. It was inappropriate and quite unnecessary with all that vulgarity and profanity. The usage of the F-word and the MF-word was really inappropriate.
Secondly, I was a bit at a loss about the costume worn by Hansel. It seemed a bit out of the age in which the movie was set as well. It was just a bit overdone and seemed like they had found it lying around discarded on a "Matrix" set. It did look great though, it just wasn't fully appropriate or matching to the age of the movie.
Finally, the weaponry - well, don't get me wrong, because it was interesting and spectacular to look at. But it seemed a little bit too advanced for the age. Yeah, I know, this is a fantasy movie, but still... Why would the weaponry technology have progressed that much, but the rest of the world was still stuck in the middle ages? It was a little bit strange. The weapons were cool to look at and were great in use on the screen, but just a tad out of place.
As for the cast in the movie, then I will say that they had put together a good ensemble of people. But it was without a doubt Famke Janssen (playing Muriel) who stole the show and totally carried the movie.
"Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" is an action-packed and adrenaline-filled action / horror movie, and it was a real treat to watch, both story-wise and effects-wise.
And on a final note, then this movie confirmed my suspicion, Edward is a troll!