The Huntsman: Winter’s War serves both as a prequel and a sequel to the 2012 film Snow White and the Huntsman. While Snow White doesn’t make an appearance, there are several familiar characters the second time around—those reprising their roles include Chris Hemsworth as Huntsman Eric, Charlize Theron as the evil queen Ravenna, and Nick Frost as Nion the dwarf.

The film opens before the events of Snow White. Ravenna (Charlize Theron) is alive and well and plotting her next rise in power, which includes murdering her latest husband. Her younger sister Freya (Emily Blunt) is in love, and pregnant with child, but the father of her baby-to-be is already engaged to another woman. Unlike her sister, Freya shows no signs of being able to do magic. However, tragedy strikes and the loss causes Freya’s heart to freeze. She is unable to love, but an icy magical power has been unlocked within her. So she heads north to reign as the Ice Queen. Freya takes all of the children away from their parents, freeing them from the burden of love, and trains them to be her army of Huntsmen. As the years pass, her two most promising soldiers, Eric and Sara (Jessica Chastain) grow close and break the Queen’s law forbidding love. Feeling betrayed, Freya takes drastic measures to put an end their relationship, which leaves The Huntsman in the state he’s in at the start of the first film.

We then jump to seven years later, after Ravenna’s demise at the hands of Snow White. Ravenna’s mirror has been growing in power and is starting to affect Snow. The King sends Eric on a quest to find the mirror and bring it to a place where its magic can be contained. As Eric sets off on this journey he is joined by dwarfs Nion and Gryff (Rob Brydon). Along the way, they cross paths with plucky female dwarf Mrs. Bromwyn (Sheridan Smith) and her meek sidekick Doreena (Alexandra Roach). Meanwhile, the Ice Queen learns of her sister’s mirror, the growing power within, and a possible way to bring her sister back. In the process, she discovers a dark secret about Ravenna, but it may be too late to prevent her evil, ruthless sister from rising to power again.

While it may not sound like it from the description above, the tone of The Huntsman: Winter’s War is much more fun and lighter than the first film. There is this epic, action-packed battle between the sisters, but the courtship between Eric and Sara, and Eric’s journey to find the mirror, are filled with many fun, humorous moments. In my review of the first film, I said that the dwarfs were my favorite part of the movie, and that still hasn’t changed. Nick Frost is always hilarious, so it was great to see Nion back and joined by equally-funny Rob Brydon as his friend Gryff. And adding the two new female dwarfs to the equation just makes it even more delightful. There’s lots of fun banter between the dwarfs as they joke about dwarf relationships, the ugliness of the females and so on. Sheridan Smith is brilliant as Mrs. Bromwyn, who puts on this tough exterior, but just wants to be loved.

Chris Hemsworth brings the same kind of performance he does to his Thor role, delivering on both the more dramatic elements of his character, but also just having a lot of fun this time around. Jessica Chastain is a wonderful addition to the cast of this follow-up film as female Hunstman Sara—she kicks butt in the action sequences, and I really enjoyed the playful relationship between Sara and Eric. Charlize Theron and Emily Blunt both play evil really well, chewing up the scenery as required. At the start of the film, Ravenna is already a bit too far gone, but we do feel sympathy for Freya and for the loss she experiences that sends her down the wrong path. Blunt’s performance makes it easy to care about this character.

Love is a big theme in this film—between Eric and Sara, among the dwarfs, between the sisters, and so on. The writers have done a good job of making these relationships feel real, something we care about, and something we want to get invested in. The prequel portion of the movie is only one quarter of the film, but it does a good job at establishing the events of the sequel, and Eric’s journey and the sister battle that follow make sense as part of the overall narrative.

The Huntsman: Winter’s War has this nice blend of action and humor, which made me enjoy it even more than the first film. The story moves along rather quickly and never feels sluggish. The action sequences are quite impressive. Whether it’s the fighting, the magic, or the creatures, they all come to life and look spectacular on screen.

I was sent both the 4K UHD Combo Pack and the Blu-ray Combo Pack For Review. Both include the Blu-ray disc with both versions of the film and all of the bonus features. In addition, the 4K release includes a 4K UHD disc containing both cuts of the film along with a 4K Digital Copy. On the other hand the Blu-ray Combo pack includes a DVD version of the film along with an HD Digital Copy.

Both the 4K and Blu-ray formats utilize the same DTS:X soundtrack. Unfortunately, my receiver doesn’t yet support DTS:X, however, the DTS-HD MA 7.1 playback sounds fantastic. This was especially noticeable in scenes where Freya uses her icy power to build these enormous ice walls, during action and fight scenes, and just when characters are in the woods and the sounds of the forest come to life around the viewer. The audio track utilizes the all of the channels—including the subwoofer—to enhance and add another dimension to what’s on screen. The Blu-ray looks great, with a crisp, clear, detailed picture. The 4K release took on a slightly darker, slightly grayer tone, and also provided even greater detail. I could make out things like roof shingles in wider shots, and could see more defined textures and details in the close-ups. Overall this is a very beautiful film, and the special effects and magical scenes looked especially fantastic in the 4K HDR presentation.

The discs provide two different cuts of the film, with the extended version running about 6 minutes longer. However, the only difference I really noticed while watching the two was that there was an additional 3-minute sequence in the extended cut as it switches from prequel to sequel. A director commentary is provided for both cuts, though it seems like it was recorded for the extended version with portions edited out for the theatrical version. The Blu-ray disc in both combo packs also provides a host of other bonus features including four deleted scenes, a fun gag reel, and a nice five-part, 36-minute behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film. Both releases come packed in standard keepcases with slipcovers.

What’s Included:
I was sent both the 4K UHD Combo Pack and the Blu-ray Combo Pack For Review. Both include the Blu-ray disc and a Digital Copy. The former includes the 4K Ultra HD disc and the UV copy redeems in UHD, while the latter includes the DVD and the UV copy redeems in HD. For both releases, all bonus features can be found on the Blu-ray disc. The 4K disc only contains the commentary while the DVD contains most but not all of the bonus features (it is missing 3 parts of the five-part Making Of feature).

Film: (Theatrical: 1:53:57, Extended: 2:00:10)

4K Ultra HD (4K UHD Combo-Pack Only):
• 2160p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• HDR
• Audio: English DTS:X, English DTS Headphone:X, Spanish 5.1 DTS Digital Surround, French 5.1 DTS Digital Surround
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Blu-ray:

• 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English DTS:X, English DTS Headphone:X, English Descriptive Video Service, Spanish 5.1 DTS Digital Surround, French 5.1 DTS Digital Surround
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

DVD (Blu-ray Combo-Pack Only):

• 480p / Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, English Descriptive Video Service
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital HD (for redemption deadline, see NBCUcodes.com):

• Extended Cut only
• Digital copy redeemable via UltraViolet (Universal, Flixster or Vudu) OR iTunes
  (The UV code that comes with the 4K release redeems in UHD while the code included with Blu-ray redeems in HD)
• An insert for a bonus digital copy is included, redeemable for one movie from the following list (expires 12/31/2016; while supplies last): The Guest, Airport, To Kill A Mockingbird, Racing Hearts, Reality Bites, Werewolf: The Beast Among Us, Fear, Sgt. Bilko, Scorpion King 3: Battle For Redemption, Death Race 3 Inferno

Extras:

• Feature Commentary (Theatrical: 1:53:57, Extended: 2:00:10)
  Director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan opens his commentary by warning the listeners about his French accent. While I had no problems understanding the commentary, I did find it a little slow at first and there were some extended pauses over the course of the film. However, the director does provide some interesting behind-the-scenes stories and production tidbits throughout the film. This can be enabled on any of the discs containing the film, in either cut of the film, but it seems like the commentary was originally recorded for the extended cut. During the extended version of the film the director talks about the the re-inserted scenes and notes why they were removed from the theatrical cut. For the theatrical cut, these portions of the commentary have been removed.
• Deleted Scenes (8:57)
  This collection of four deleted scenes can be watched with optional commentary by director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan. In the commentary, the director explains why the scenes weren’t ultimately included in the final film. There’s some entertaining material here—it’s a shame it didn’t make it into the extended cut. Play All or select from “Freya Says Goodbye To Ravenna”, “Young Eric And Sara Fight”, “Eric Finds Passage To Hidden Forest”, and “Freya Beats Ravenna in Chess”
• Gag Reel (9:43)
  This fun gag reel includes airplanes ruining shots, flubbed lines, prop malfunctions, missed marks, misbehaving animals, and lots of other hilarious antics on set. In one particularly humorous moment Charlize Theron’s son can be heard crying offstage for some milk as his mother tries to do her scene, and this gets scene partner Emily Blunt giggling.
• Winter’s Vistas: The Making of The Huntsman: Winter’s War
  Five-part behind-the scenes look at the making of the film. This feature include lots of clips and behind-the-scenes footage, as well as interviews with director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, executive producer Sarah Bradshaw, visual effects supervisor Paul Lambert, prop master David Cheesman, sculptor Codrina Sparatu, motion capture supervisor Simon Kay, producer Joe Roth, costume designer Colleen Atwood, and stars Charlize Theron (“Ravenna”), Emily Blunt (“Freya”), Chris Hemsworth (“The Huntsman / Eric”), Jessica Chastain (“Sara”), Nick Frost’s (“Nion”) and Rob Brydon (“Gryff”), Sheridan Smith (“Mrs. Bromwyn”) and Alexandra Roach (“Doreena”).
  • Two Queens and Two Warriors (7:22)
    The director talks about working with such an amazing cast on his first film while the actors discuss what it was like working with one another. The cast and director talk about the two different Ravenna’s—the more-human version before the first movie and the magical, returned version in the second half of the film. They also discuss how we see what led The Huntsman to becoming the drunk he was in the first film, the love story, and the introduction of two strong female characters in Freya and Sara.
  • Meet the Dwarfs (8:10)
    A fun look at bringing back the dwarfs and expanding the world to include Gryff and the female dwarfs. The actors talk about how they learned to walk like a dwarf, how they were made to look shorter than the other actors, and working with their doubles.
  • Magic All Around (8:44)
    A behind-the-scenes look at how the film’s creatures and magical effects were brought to life on the screen.
  • Dressed To Kill (6:03)
    A look at the various costumes from the film, the though process behind each design, and the reactions from the actors.
  • Love Conquers All (5:58)
    The actors talk about the lighthearted attitude of the director, working with their fellow actors, and just having fun on set.

Final Thoughts:

The Huntsman: Winter’s War is a fun follow-up to the first film, providing both a prequel and a sequel. It takes the elements of Snow White and the Huntsman that really worked and emphasizing them, creating a follow-up film that is better than the original. I really enjoyed the lighter tone of this film—it adds a lot of humor, but still gives all of the magic and action that viewers enjoyed in the first film, while also introducing some fun and interesting new characters. The 4K and Blu-ray presentations of the film look excellent, and both releases include the same solid selection of bonus features. I definitely recommend checking this out, even if you were a bit lukewarm on the first film.