Mirror Mirror (2012)

 
Mirror Mirror (2012)

6/10

Starring

Julia Roberts
Lily Collins
Armie Hammer
Sean Bean

Directed by Tarsem Singh

Mirror Mirror takes a while to get into. The movie starts slow, has some bad pacing, but after the first 40 minutes, it takes a good turn, and I have to say, it isn’t that bad. When things finally pick up, you’ll see that it’s cool, and I enjoyed how the story tries to twist what we’re all used to.

The comedy doesn’t always hit home, but I enjoyed many of the comic relief moments sprinkled throughout. This is a comedy fantasy film based on the fairy tale Snow White by the Brothers Grimm, directed by Tarsem Singh.

The movie stars Snow White, played by Lily Collins, with Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen. The plot is pretty simple. Snow White is locked away by her stepmother, the Evil Queen, who’s basically running the kingdom into the ground while obsessing over her looks and money. Snow White escapes, ends up with a bunch of bandit dwarfs, and they team up to take back the kingdom.

Mirror Mirror is a shy away from being what I would call good enough to beat my chest and say go see it without warning. Because even though the screenplay was well carved to be intriguing, it’s not something I would call original. There have been many adaptations of this story, and this one just feels like one of those things you’ve seen before somewhere. The bad pacing and funny directing decisions didn’t help either. I liked the setup and the beautiful feel of the movie, but the plot direction—like changing who is actually needing saving, Snow White or the Prince—may not be the kind of twist everyone is looking forward to seeing. Plus, the way it is delivered does not make for fine cinema.

Mirror Mirror, to me, was saved by Julia Roberts. Her acting reminded me why she is, and will always remain, one of the best things to happen to the silver screen. She was just in a class of her own and made the other cast members be in her shadow.

Mirror Mirror wasn’t much of a financial success, and it didn’t land well with critics and audiences either. As of the time of writing, it holds only a 50% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But despite that, the film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design. 

I liked this movie, and I still feel it is a good watch, but I have to warn you not to think you are going to be blind sided or taken unawares by the things happening. It is a bit predictable.