Actors: Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen, Peter Stormare, Thomas Mann
Directors: Tommy Wirkola
Number of discs: 3
Rated: R / Unrated
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: June 11, 2013
Run Time: 87 / 97 minutes
Film: 3 out of 5 stars
3D: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars
“Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” is exactly what you would expect…over-the-top and fun..and that is all. The action is pretty awesome and the film is quite gory for us horrorhounds. The make-up effects are also pretty sharp. Overall, it is just mindless entertainment. For fans of “The Avengers”, did I mention it has Hawkeye in it? Jeremy Renner is fun in the role, poking fun at his character, as is Gemma Arterton, who isn’t hurting on the eyes either. Famke Janssen also has a great role in the film and plays a great witch. This is also the American film debut of Norwegian director Tommy Wirkola, who did the 2009 feature “Dead Snow”, which is another fun zany horror/comedy with Nazi zombies.
All that going for it and did I mention it is also in 3D? They most definitely take advantage of the third dimension as well and it works in the film’s favorite for more added fun. The 3D makes the film entertaining and there are a few great in-your-face gore shots and fireballs thrown at the screen. The film was delayed to be post converted but I think they have really mastered post conversion process…anyone see “Iron Man 3″? The film wasn’t a huge hit in the US but good enough…I hear that there is already a sequel in the card…do I smell a new franchise? Best movie of 2013? Nope but definitely worth a rental.
Official Premise: Get ready for a twisted take on the classic tale as Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) have turned pro, coping with the trauma of their childhood captivity by slaying witches for hire. But when the seemingly unstoppable bounty hunters meet their match in an enemy so evil, it’ll take all their training, weapons and courage to survive. Revenge is sweeter than candy.
This release includes two cuts of the film. The original theatrical R-rated 87 minute cut and the extended unrated 97 minute cut. The unrated cut is definitely worth checking out with more blood and gore…but it is only available in 2D. I think that is the most disappointing part of this release is that the 3D Blu-ray only contains the theatrical cut, I would have liked to enjoy both in 3D. I am sure it would haven’t have been much trouble to give us 3D cuts of both but nonetheless we got what we got.
Paramount delivers a fantastic three-disc combo pack including a 3D Blu-ray, standard 2D Blu-ray and DVD copy. Ultraviolet streaming digital copy, as well there is a iTunes digital copy. Like I said the 1080p transfer is very impressive and works very well with the 3D presentation. 2D fans will also appreciate this fine transfer as well. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track works perfectly with the action and score by Atli Örvarsson, who recently worked with Hans Zimmer to contribute music to the Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel”.
As brainless fun as the film is, the special features are lacking in terms but still are decent. There are three short featurettes. The first is “Reinventing Hansel & Gretel”, which runs about 15 minutes. It looks into the origin of the film and its production. “The Witching Hours” looks into the cool design process of the witches in the film. Kudos again for great make-up. Lastly “Meet Edward the Troll” is another short look at creating the Troll in the film. So overall decent but nothing really substantial in terms of value. Of course if you can always count the unrated cut as a bonus feature but that is up to you.