SkimIt
The summer movie season kicks off in earnest with this Friday's release (finally!) of The Avengers. So let's have a look at which trailers are doing the best job of making us excited to hit the theaters.
Snow White and the Huntsman (opening June 1)
The Details: The second of two competing projects based on the fairy tale, Snow White and the Huntsman (rated PG-13) is much darker than the comic Mirror Mirror. Charlize Theron stars as the evil Queen Ravenna, with Kristen Stewart as Snow White and Chris Hemsworth (Thor) as the Huntsman, a role turned down by Johnny Depp, Viggo Mortensen and Hugh Jackman. First-time director Rupert Sanders is behind the camera.
The Trailer: Literally the first shot is Theron taking off her clothes, making it clear that this ain't no Disney version of the story. Theron's nude milk bath is intercut with scenes of epic armored carnage, Middle Ages-style. The filmmakers are so enthused by both Queen Ravenna and the battle scenes that neither of the title characters even appear on-screen for nearly the first 60 seconds of the trailer. The dwarves only get one fleeting scene. Also, everything and everybody seems to collapse into hundreds of these things that look like railroad spikes when they get hit with a sword, which I certainly don't remember from the fairy tale.
The Buzz: Mirror Mirror scored a resounding "meh" from both critics and audiences, but this looks even worse. What little actual acting is on display substitutes over-the-top screaming for actual craft, except for Stewart, She sleepwalks through all of her scenes with her usual dead-eyed blankness. Is there a worse well-known actress of her generation? I sure can't think of one. Based on this deadly-dull, draggy trailer, this looks like it might be the worst major movie of the summer.
