Casting Kristen Stewart as the 'fairest of them all' would make sense in many contexts. Unless, that is - and pardon my crassness - you cast the stunning Charlize Theron as the beauty-obsessed evil queen with a magic mirror.
Rookie director Rupert Sanders' reimagining of the classic fairy tale - Snow White and the Huntsman - pretty much mirrors the original. The film opens with the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) narrating. A queen gives birth to Snow White - who's as white as snow, with hair as black as a raven. And so the trouble with this film starts: Stewart's not that fair, and her hair's more brown than black.
The queen dies and the king remarries Ravenna (Theron), who murders him and takes the throne. Ravenna imprisons Snow White in a tower for years before finding out that her immortality depends on her prisoner's blood. When Snow White escapes into a Pandora-like dark forest, the queen is forced to enlist the Huntsman to retrieve her.
As well as not looking the part, Stewart's performance leaves much to be desired. Her 'rouse the troops' speech is laughable. Theron is more convincing, even if she hams it up at times, and Hemsworth, who played Thor, proves he's mastered any role that requires wielding heavy objects. Sadly, this is a case of big names over substance.