Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

• Directed by Tommy Wirkola
• January 25, 2013 (US) / February 28, 2013 (Germany)
• Loosely based on Hansel and Gretel

Hansel and Gretel, now grown, work to kill witches as they are drawn unwittingly into a plot to make their targets invulnerable.

A few years ago there was a mild trend of movies built around fairytales. These were not aimed squarely at kids but a more adult audience. The Brothers Grimm. Red Riding Hood. I think there were even a few Hansel and Gretel films. All with varying degrees of success. Enter into that Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters which turns the characters into badass witch killers.

I was struck right away by the 80s action movie vibe of this. Long on cool and often short on strong logic. Witty one-liners mixed with heavy explosions. This has that in spades. There is the addition of modern elements set in a vaguely 17^th/18^th century environment such as machine type guns, record players, and missing kids on milk bottles. Hansel (Jeremy Renner) must inject himself with what amounts to insulin (though not stated as such) after eating far too much of the candy house.

This is the story of what happened to Hansel and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) when they grew up. They earned a tinge of celebrity and eventually began careers as witch hunters moving around the countryside and slaughtering any wicked witch they came across. This brings them to the town of Augsburg where they must deal with Muriel (Famke Janssen) and her two witches who are kidnapping local kids.

For something that is somewhat disposable where the viewer is meant to leave their brain at the door, there is a surprising level of thought put into this. It drops clues to not only the witches plot before the reveal but also the importance of Hansel and Gretel in that plot. Hansel and Gretel: Witches Hunters does all this nicely while using action and humor in complimentary fashions.

Peter Stormare makes a second appearance in a fairytale-based film as Sheriff Berringer who is a power hungry local cop. He spends the movie working counter to Hansel and Gretel yet seeking to accomplish the same goals though for his own purposes. Stormare is somewhat wasted. Entertaining but he really just slows things up as an unnecessary sub-villain.

Jeremy Renner is great as the charming asshole Hansel paired with Gemma Arterton’s Gretel. They have a very believable sibling chemistry. Hansel is certainly not the leader of the group. He is the muscle yet they are both on equal footing. Each contribute something in their way to the team.

Hansel learns a lesson that not all witches are evil and ugly when he learns his love interest Mina (Pihla Viitala) is a white witch. A love interest is fine, but her death was meant to be serious and dramatic and it wasn’t. The relationship between the two was not developed enough between the two. She could’ve easily lived, and they just parted ways.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is a silly movie that strikes all the right notes. Great action and great visuals and just a generally great ride that will leave you feeling good because you enjoyed yourself. Certainly worthwhile viewing.