Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters Review (Classic Write-Up)

The Witch Is Back

It needs to said right upfront: Maleficent, this is not. Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters wears it's R-rating on its sleeve, with numerous violent death scenes, blood, guts, heavy artillery and witches, Lots and lots of witches. Most of which suffer gruesome fates at the hands of Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton), who are, as the title suggests, witch hunters. They've gotten really good at this whole killing witches thing, but a duel with evildoer Muriel (Famke Janssen) could be their greatest challenge yet.

It's a simple enough premise, one done in just over 80 minutes, which is much appreciated. None of the bloat found in the Transformers sequels can be discovered here, though the shorter runtime does leave the cast of characters feeling pretty underdeveloped. Hansel's depth stops with his character trait of having diabetes (which he got from eating too much candy in that gingerbread house all those years ago) while Gretel alternates between "female bad ass" and "Damsel in distress" depending on what the script calls for.

But hey, at least the large amount of violence they dish out is cool looking. Tommy Wirkola, the sole writer and director on this project, avoids any sort of "grounded" or "gritty" approach to this fairy tale, making every single confrontation with the films various witches as stylized as possible. Some of the CGI looks iffy, but it's mostly fun to watch, especially when a large number of witches enter the equation in the climax. They're a well-designed bunch that the effects team probably had a jolly good time creating.

Returning to our titular protagonists briefly, it should be noted Jeremy Renner filmed this movie right after Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and just before shooting a major part in the third biggest movie of all-time. Interestingly, unlike in those movies, and even dramas he's appeared in like The Town and American Hustle, this isn't an ensemble piece, Renner gets to be front-and-center. With this opportunity at his fingerprints, Renner is OK, mainly held back by some clunky writing. No shocker for those who saw his two other blockbuster endeavors, Renner does handle himself nicely in the movies several action sequences.

Arterton as Gretel, like I said before, is an inconsistent creation, and for some reason, scenes with her and Hansel are limited, due to them being separated for much of the film. That storytelling choice might be a big reason for why they're both so underdeveloped as personalities, a pity considering that Renners a talented actor and Arterton hasn't really been given a shot at putting in commendable work in a major feature (her other notable films include Prince of Persia and the 2010 Clash of The Titans film). A shame for both of them, though hey, at least Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters doesn't skimp on the trolls or memorable violent imagery.