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"If the very title has you rolling your eyes, don't even bother. If, however, it makes you think you'd like to see the further adventures of the fairy tale characters, by all means, take a chance. - Daniel M. Kimmel"

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is a 2013 action horror film written and directed by Tommy Wirkola. It is a continuation to the German folklore fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel", in which the titular siblings are now grown up and working as a duo of witch exterminators for hire. The film stars Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton in the title roles with Famke Janssen, Peter Stormare, Thomas Mann, Pihla Viitala and Derek Mears as the supporting cast.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters was theatrically released in the United States on January 25, 2013, in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D, as well in D-Box motion theaters and select international 4DX theaters. The film was panned by mainstream critics, particularly for what they saw as its weak script and gratuitous violence, although genre critics were more positive, and the film gained a cult following by the end of 2013. The film topped the domestic box office on its opening weekend and was a success worldwide. Its worldwide theatrical run gross exceeded $226 million for the production cost of $50 million.

Plot
Fifteen years after Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) defeated the wicked witch who planned to have them for her dinner, the siblings have come of age as skilled bounty hunters. Hell-bent on retribution, they have dedicated their lives to hunting down and destroying every witch still lurking in the dark forests of their homeland. As the notorious blood moon approaches, the siblings face a great evil -- one that could hold the secret to their terrifying past.

Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 16% based on 144 reviews, with an average rating of 4.20/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Alternately bloody and silly, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters fails as both a fantasy adventure and as a parody of same." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 23 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

Claudia Puig of USA Today wrote "this convoluted hybrid of fairy tale and fantasy/action/comedy/horror aims for campy fun, but comes off tedious and blood-spattered." Andrew Barker of Variety called the film "inconsistently acted, and somehow both underwritten and overplotted," and while the action is "frequent and competently staged," it might feel too repetitive "as yet another witch is ripped apart limb from limb, sending yet another wave of viscera sluicing toward the camera." Similarly, Stephanie Merry of The Washington Post wrote that "after a while it's easy to become numb to the repulsive sights and bored by action that once seemed intense and exciting" in this "rarely funny spoof that's heavy on bone-crushing and blood-gushing," giving it one-and-half star out of four. Steven Farber of The Hollywood Reporter wrote a scathing review, saying that while "Wirkola makes the most of the 3D technology", "the film is too fanciful to be truly revolting" for its gore effects and "despite its few wry jokes, the script is awfully thin." Roger Moore of The Charlotte Observer gave the film one-and-a-half out of four stars, writing that Wirkola "focuses on the fights and flings all manner of viscera at the 3-D camera as limbs are whacked off and heads and torsos explode. Less attention was paid to the story, and the dialogue is a tad over-reliant on the random f-word to land a laugh." Lou Lumenick of the New York Post gave the film zero out of four stars, writing that "nothing makes a whole lot of sense in this incoherent movie, whose director's philosophy seems to be: When in doubt, cut somebody's head off." Kat Murphy of MSN gave it one star out of four, comparing this "big-budget faux fairy tale about skanky witches" to a "downscale video game for dull-eyed teens happy to lap up lame wisecracks and lots of gore." According to Vulture's Bilge Ebiri, "if the similarly situated Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter took itself too seriously, the problem with Hansel & Gretel is that it doesn't quite take itself seriously enough." Keith Staskiewicz of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C−, calling it "an intermittently fun, but overexcited and predictable mish-mash." Alicia Malone of IGN rated it a 4.5/10, stating "there are a few funny moments, but overall Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is too similar to many films we've seen before." Calum Marsh of Slant Magazine lambasted the film's "sub-Tim Burton aesthetic" and wrote that "the result suggests A Knight's Tale as penned by Seth MacFarlane," giving it zero out of four stars. Scott A. Gray of Exclaim! praised some elements of the film, such as "lush and colourful art design that recalls a Guillermo del Toro production, sound creature makeup and special effects, decently choreographed action scenes and a pair of leads who do their damnedest to sell the limp script", giving it a score of 4/10. Chris Knight of The Vancouver Sun called it a "mess of a fairy tale", expecting "a wiccan outcry at the film's depiction — nay, endorsement — of the torture of witch-folk." Liam Lacey of The Globe and Mail gave it one star out of four, concerned how it "has an alarming number of females being strung up, burned, shot, decapitated and eviscerated."

Some reception of the film, was more positive. Michael Gingold of Fangoria gave it two-and-half out of four skulls, while Jonathan Barkan of Bloody Disgusting gave it four out of five skulls, stating it "isn't a movie meant to scare or make you think but it is one of the most entertaining and enjoyable movies of its kind that I've seen in years." Scott Weinberg of FEARnet wrote that "aside from some very clunky editorial missteps in the film's second half, there's a good deal of wit, enthusiasm, energy, and amusing attitude to be found in the dumb-yet-self-aware Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters," all while noting that he is "not the type to act snobbish around a ridiculous film that obviously knows it's ridiculous." According to Ryan Larson of Shock Till You Drop, the film "is a mixed bag" but "fortunately, the lows don't appear as often as you would think," and, "if taken at face value, Hansel & Gretel is well worth the view." William Bibbiani of CraveOnline, who criticized the film's inadequately "limp" marketing campaign, found the movie itself "inherently stupid" but in a good way, "played with humor, ultraviolence and anachronistic fetish." Cinema Blend's Sean O'Connell stated that the film is "often mean and nasty, but that's really its saving grace." Peter Paras of E! recommended this "super violent, pretty funny flick" for how it "revels in the mayhem". Tom Russo of The Boston Globe, giving the film three out of five stars, called it a "splattery fanboy fun. Preposterous, clearly, but fun." Jonathon Natsis of Filmink wrote: "Hansel and Gretel is not a 'film'. It's a 'movie', in all its unabashed, excitable glory ... big on blood-soaked entertainment and low on pretension." Rick Florino of Artistdirect gave it four out of five stars, stating: "This has all the elements of a classic action flick, and it's destined for cult status. Welcome to the most fun movie of 2013." DVD Talk's Jamie S. Rich summed up: "Is Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters a good movie? Probably not. At least not in any way that is defensible by regular critical standards. Is it a hell of a good time? Absolutely so. Unabashedly so. That's all it wants to be."

Neil Geinzlinger of The New York Times wrote that "it may not stay in the public eye long because this movie is probably not going to put up Twilight-like numbers," adding that "the script doesn't give them enough of the witty lines that can elevate these types of movies to must-see status, which is odd, since the producers include Will Ferrell." Vince Horiuchi of The Salt Lake Tribune suggested that this film should have been made 30 years ago by Sam Raimi and starring Bruce Campbell, while instead "the Hansel and Gretel we're left with runs out of its magic potion far too early to let us enjoy its wicked possibilities." A more positive comparison to Raimi and Campbell's Army of Darkness was made by Pete Vonder Haar of the Houston Press, who gave it three out of five "witch hazels" and wrote: "I'm not sure if witches are the next vampires/zombies, or if the hinted-at franchise potential has any legs, but this was a perfectly vulgar way to spend 90 minutes." Tim Grierson of Screen International wrote that Hansel and Gretel "works best as an unapologetic B-movie action flick" and "feels like a first film in a franchise that's meant to set up the main characters and conflicts, which can then be fleshed out in sequels" but "the problem is that there isn't enough here to warrant a return trip to this semi-magical land." Richard Corliss of TIME agreed with this sentiment, stating that "one might be enough — too much, for some tastes."

Cult Status
At the conclusion of 2013, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters made multiple annual movie lists dedicated to underappreciated or underrated films. Movies.com opined it "is, hands down, the most underappreciated film of the year ... 'Proper' filmmaking or not, if you've got me cheering at the screening, grinning big and then walking out with a little extra adrenaline, you've done something right." Ryan Doom from JoBlo.com wrote that "while usually that's the thing I mock, Hansel & Gretel somehow ended up pretty damn enjoyable ... Why not? It never takes itself serious and it knows exactly what it is: a silly film that isn't afraid to do what the hell it wants." Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters has hence been labeled as a cult film by a number of horror-fantasy film fans, as well as by some critics who initially saw no merit in the movie. This significant financial and fan following have led some to question the initial perception of the film in relation to its debut in January, considered to be "a refuge for films that don't have a shot of generating good word of mouth or having a leggy run." While Renner's box office draw and the film's "well-articulated premise" have been listed as major factors behind its theatrical success, its ability to maintain a lasting fan following has also been attributed to its original concept, excellent gore and action sequences, Renner's and Arterton's tongue-in-cheek performances, and the film's ability to not take itself too seriously.

Trivia

 * The movie was not screened in advance for critics.

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