The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016), PG-13, ★1/2

There, there...now you will have power. 

Another unnecessary sequel in 2016...I don't know if anybody was craving for another Huntsman movie. I'll grant you, though, its predecessor was not as bad as I thought but had some good things in it. This movie, again, is just another paycheck movie for big talented stars and producers to see dollar signs on. Heck, I don't even know what this movie is about because of its over bloated script that piles on so many random puzzles that it is a coherent mess.

Before the origins of Snow White, Queen Ravena (Charlize Theron) killed her husband and ruled over his kingdom with the power of the Magic Mirror. Her sister, Freya (Emily Blunt) will be by her side once she rules. Freya is also carrying the Duke of Blackwood's (Colin Morgan) son, in which the Duke was promised to another. In flashback, Freya and the Duke had a daughter but she finds out that her kid had died due to her crib being burnt. Freya screams in sorrow, unleashing her icy powers and turn the Duke into an ice statue that shatters. She also trains children who have killed their parents to become huntsman. (Ummm...okay?)

Two of the huntsman have grown and have experience in combat: Eric (Chris Hemsworth) and Sara (Jessica Chastain). As tragedy strikes, seven years pass by so that Eric and Sara can be separated as Freya was jealous of their loving relationship. But, then, they try to hunt down for the Mirror that has been haunting Snow White as they battle goblins, the huntsman and also Queen Ravena. That's it, right?

Chris Hemsworth and Jessica Chastain.

I was entranced by the visuals but I was so bored and lost by the narrative. No wonder losing Kristen Stewart really made the story jumbled because the screenwriters had to figure a way around the Snow White character even when she is absent from the picture. But, she might have saved the movie from its very bad script because it tries too cram in so much story in its characters that the screenwriters and director felt so desperate to entertain us. They felt so desperate that they focused so much on the visuals and less on the story and its story felt more like an angry soap-opera version of Frozen.

Man, two of my favorite actresses in recent years are in this crammed mess and they both give underwhelming performances. Emily Blunt gives a restrained and boring performance as another queen trying to take over the kingdom and Jessica Chastain's character wants to embody the strong female presence but is there as a pawn for Hemsworth to re-ignite that true love and feels like a forced situation for the story to become interesting. And, Charlize Theron just screams her ways through like a match for its predecessor. Plus, the dwarves want to create some humor but fails.

This is a movie that is not coherently told well but it is a products of remnants of ideas that are scattered all over the place to desperately manipulate us to enjoy the themes of true love and action sequences. I will admit the costume designs and the production value is on-par with top quality but it is not enough to boast enough value into enjoying the movie because of a terrible script and fairly uninteresting characters.

*1/2