Snow White and the Huntsman came out in 2012, and I thought it was fantastic. So, naturally, my expectations for The Huntsman: Winter’s War were high.
Although I can’t say I was disappointed, I was, however, confused. The trailers and posters made viewers believe it was the tale of what happened before Snow White, and the first 20 minutes were. But all of the sudden, the narrator is telling you that this story actually takes place seven years after Snow White defeated Ravenna, the evil Queen.  
After the initial realization as to what the film was actually going to be about, it is all uphill from there.
The film follows the Eric, a.k.a the huntsman, played by the mighty Chris Hemsworth in both the past and present. The movie explains how he became the huntsman and introduces his wife, Sara, played by Jessica Chastain. She had only been referenced in the previous film, so it was exciting getting to see her come to life.
The antagonist of the movie is Ravenna’s sister, Queen Freya, played by Emily Blunt. Freya is the stereotypical “ice queen” who had her heart broken many years ago and is now making her kingdom pay. Like her sister, she too has powers that were unleashed when she experienced a great tragedy.
She began taking children from their families to build a huge army to take over surrounding kingdoms, which is how Eric and Sara meet. The queen, many years prior to their relationship, had banned love of any kind from her kingdom. When she found out that Eric and Sara had fallen in love, she tried to put an end to it. Which is the only part of the movie that I disliked.
A major point in Snow White was that Finn (brother of Freya and Ravenna) had killed Sara, but in the film Reya had her killed. Not only had they left that part out, but Finn wasn’t even mentioned in the movie, nor had Reya been mentioned in Snow White. It may sound like a minor detail, but when the movies are made only four years apart, there is no excuse for inconsistencies.
The film contained a lot of intense, but elaborate fighting scenes. If action scenes aren’t done properly, they can often feel pointless and even a little bit boring. But they were done perfectly in The Huntsman. There were most likely stunt doubles involved, but nonetheless, the kick and flips were unlike most in other movies making them even more entertaining.
There was a lot of obvious CGI in the film, but not because it was done poorly. There were a lot of mystical creatures that were beautiful examples of what modern day technology can do. And because a lot of the movie is set in a world where magic exists, a majority of the movie was created using green screen. They did an excellent job of making the otherworldly landscapes look as real as possible, adding to the magical feel of the film.
I recommend seeing The Huntsman: Winter’s War, but suggest seeing Snow White and the Huntsman first. The film will make  much more sense, and it’s an opportunity to watch another great movie. The Huntsman answers a lot of questions from the previous film, and also raises many more.
Overall the film is a thrilling tale full of ‘how the heck’ moments that keeps you wanting more.