The Huntsman Winter's War (2016)
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A powerful Snow Queen and a warrior must navigate a web of deception and ancient magic to reclaim a lost artifact.
The story
After the tragic death of her daughter, Princess Freya develops cryokinetic powers and becomes the Snow Queen, ruling the northern mountains with an army of Huntsmen. Years later, following the defeat of Queen Ravenna, the current ruler, Snow White, falls ill due to the dark magic of her Magic Mirror. Fearing its power, she orders it to be taken to Sanctuary, but the artifact is lost. Eric, a warrior, joins with two dwarves to recover the Mirror. Along the way, he is reunited with Sara, a woman he believes was killed by the Snow Queen's illusions, and they must navigate the dangers of the frozen land to find the lost object.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Following the death of her daughter, Princess Freya becomes the Snow Queen, ruling the north with a forbidden army of Huntsmen. Years later, Queen Snow White falls ill due to the dark magic of her Magic Mirror. When the Mirror is lost during transport to Sanctuary, Eric, a warrior, and two dwarves, Nion and Gryff, set out to find it. Eric reunites with Sara, who was separated from him by Freya's illusions. They eventually uncover the truth of the deception and rekindle their bond. Upon finding the Mirror in the hands of goblins, they are ambushed by Freya. During the fight, Sara appears to betray Eric, but her attack only fakes his death. Freya takes the Mirror and unknowingly resurrects the spirit of Ravenna. The two sisters plot to rule together, but Freya soon learns Ravenna orchestrated her daughter's death. Enraged, Freya turns against Ravenna but is mortally wounded. With her last strength, she helps Eric destroy the Mirror, killing Ravenna once and for all. As Freya dies, she finds peace in a vision of her daughter, and her Huntsmen are freed, allowing Eric and Sara to finally have a future together.
- First release year
- 2016
- Runtime (minutes)
- 114
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Cedric Nicolas-Troyan
- Writers
- Craig Mazin · writer; Evan Spiliotopoulos · writer
- Cast and characters
- Chris Hemsworth · Eric; Charlize Theron · Queen Ravenna; Emily Blunt · Queen Freya; Nick Frost · Nion; Sam Claflin · King William; Rob Bryden · Gryff; Jessica Chastain · Sara
- Genres
- fantasy; action; adventure; romance
- Themes
- sacrifice; betrayal; sisterhood; power
- Tone and mood
- dark; epic
- Premise and plot tags
- sequel; prequel; fantasy; action
- Source material / true-story basis
- characters created by Evan Daugherty
- Franchise connections
- Snow White & the Huntsman
- Reception
- The film received generally unfavorable reviews from critics but had a mixed response from audiences.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 35 · scale: 100 · review count: 41; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F; PostTrak · score: 72%
- Production trivia
- The film was produced on a budget of $115 million.; The film was released in 3D in international markets like Germany.; The film's score was composed by James Newton Howard.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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