Hansel & Gretel: Fun, If A Bit Inauthentic, Entertainment

The trend in today's Hollywood is to pick a ready-made story and turn it into the next cash cow. Lord of The Rings, Harry Potter, the Hunger Games, Narnia, The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan... all these were literature favourites that has seen transaction to the big screen. Some were transferred to the smaller screen, like the Game of Thrones.

Don't Mess With These Siblings

Fairy Tales are no exception. Over the years, we see stories from ancient folklores and the Grimms Brothers converted into box office movies with a little bit of Hollywood magic. Most of the good ones are animated versions, such as those made by Disney, one by New Line Cinema (Swan Princess) and another by 20th Century Fox (Anastasia). Only one live action adaptation that I know of is worth watching. Others, unfortunately, are not so commendable. Equally unfortunate, is that this category exceeds its commendable counterparts. Too many to mention and in too many variables to be able to digest.

The latest, and for now the only well-known, adaptation of Hansel and Gretel, actually falls close into the first category, although not without faults. The plot serves as a sort of extension to the story of the two siblings who were left in the forest by their father, only to encounter a house made of confectionery and almost be eaten by a witch. Both were under the impression that their parents had left them in the forest as children to die, though they didn't understand why.

Somebody call for an exterminator?

Fast forward to 15 years after the incident. Hansel is diabetic due to eating far too much sweets in the candy house, while Gretel has frequent dreams about their mother. The aftermath of their ordeal was that the siblings combined both their skills (they are immune to evil spells and witchcraft for unknown reasons) and knowledge (they learned various effective ways to trap and kill witches) and became expert witch hunters. News traveled fast and they became well-known across the lands (I'm assuming Germany).

After years of making a living as witch hunters, they came at last at a town blanketed in fear, for many children have been missing and word has it that witches are involved. They arrived just in time to stop the condemning of a young redheaded woman, Mina, who was accused of witchcraft. The siblings freed her, announcing that she has no mark of witchcraft on her. But there were indeed witches at large, and as it turned out, the missing children served a bigger purpose for the witches than just to make a feast.

I mentioned previously that this version of the story was quite good, because it talked about the siblings' psychological state after they almost became witch supper as children. The injection (no pun intended) of Hansel's diabetes was a brilliant touch, and it was implied that he never touched candy for the rest of his life. I also like the sibling relationship between Hansel and Gretel. Hansel's character was swashbuckling and all about action, though he softened and amusing when it comes to his sister. Gretel is thoughtful and sensitive, and spends most of her time trying to watch over her brother, despite everything that was happening around her.

That horrible moment when you 
realize you date is not pleased

Other characters worth mentioning had to be the Leader of the Evil Witches, Muriel, who seemed to know more about the siblings' past than they do. The redheaded Mina, who turned out to be a witch after all, but a good one, was passable (somebody had to romance at least one of the siblings I suppose), and so is the town Sherrif (equally, someone has to be the secondary, bumbling antagonist). I don't know why Ben the fanboy had to be there though. They can easily relate the tale of Hansel & Gretel's past in plenty other ways. Best had to be the Troll (I love the fact that they named him Edward! Much better looking that the cough*vampire*cough).

Say What?

However, on the other hand, a gattling gun and a taser in 18th century Europe in a tad too over the top. It would have been a lot more authentic if they had worked with super-huge swords and mega-huge crossbows. The firearms are all right, but putting a gattling gun and a witch on broomsticks in the same frame is just plain wrong.

So in short, this movie makes of good entertainment if you keep you mind wide open and don't worry about details. I would recommend to see it once, if only to drool over Jeremy Renner and/or Gemma Arterton.

Don't look now Hansel, but I think there's a creepy old lady behind us.