When I first saw the trailer for this movie an immediate comparison was drawn in my mind. Van Helsing. Supernatural lore turned into action flick with modern(ish) weapons. It is a comparison I have found hard to shake both before and after seeing the movie. I had thought that Hansel and Gretel appeared to be taking it self more seriously which I believed would be its downfall. The weakest points in Van Helsing where when it would switch swiftly between action one liners and flowery dialogue trying to fit the time period more, the moments when it appeared as though it wanted to be smarter than it was.
Hansel and Gretel is one of the stupidest movies I have seen in a while. It is also one of the most successful, well written movies I have seen in a while. It was not written deliberately 'bad' however it is deliberately 'stupid'. The modern dialogue never ends and thus never feels out of place, the weaponry is never explained by some kind of 'Q' monk character it just is there, and the 'twist' this is how the bad guy is related to the good guy completely contained, explained and foreshadowed.
I don't feel the need for movies to have to 'say something' or to forever change the landscape of cinema. Any more than I expect it of every book I read or every comic I read. There will always be room in entertain for things that are just stupid. Not bad, mind you. Normally when things are stupid, they are also bad. Usually leaking with plot wholes, weak characters or offensive stereotyping. This is a good stupid movie. Effort was put into this, they wanted to make a fun movie and they did that. If you're looking for the textbook definition of a 'popcorn' flick this would be it.
For the squeamish, there is a lot of blood... none of it looks real though. It is the horror equivalent of a five year old spraying the walls with tomato sauce, and than throwing spaghetti at it, and than more tomato sauce.
I understand giving this one a miss till the dvd or a good torrent, but if you have the time and the spare cash there are worse ways to spend a couple of hours. 6.5/10
