The Huntsman: Winter's War (Rated T)
Cast: Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain
Genre: Fantasy Action Adventure

Dwight's Rating: Watchable, and at times, quite likable, but exceptionally unnecessary: that's likely the best way to describe "The Huntsman: Winter's War" -- an innocuous but largely disposable new film.

Both a sequel and a prequel to 2012's "Snow White and the Huntsman," the movie covers events that preceded the Snow White story, and the developments a few years after that tale. Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth from that popular movie return for this edition.

Betrayed by her evil sister Ravenna (Theron), heartbroken Freya (Emily Blunt) retreats to a northern kingdom to raise an army of huntsmen as her protectors. Gifted with the ability to freeze her enemies in ice, Freya teaches her young soldiers to never fall in love. When Eric (Hemsworth) and fellow warrior Sara (Jessica Chastain) defy this rule, the angry queen does whatever she can to stop them. As war between the siblings escalates, Eric and Sara unite with Freya to end Ravenna's wicked reign.

"Winter's War" starts off on the right foot. In fact, for most of the film, it's actually quite enjoyable and appears to be headed in the right direction. Hemsworth's Eric/The Huntsman teams up with some dwarves on a quest to retrieve that infamous Magic Mirror that caused so much drama for poor Snow White.

The adventure that ensues is fun and well-paced. At times, it feels like a cross between "Shrek", TV's "Game of Thrones", and even the first of "The Lord of the Rings" films, "The Fellowship of the Rings". That's pretty good company.

Hemsworth appears to be having a good time. Chastain is always a delight. The dwarves -- played by Nick Frost, Rob Brydon, Sheridan Smith and Alexandra Roach (none of them dwarves, by the way) -- provide refreshing comic relief. The always-excellent Emily Blunt as ice queen Freya is in fine form, reaffirming my long-held view that cinematically she can do no wrong. (I'm sure Blunt could turn reading a telephone directory into an Academy Award-worthy spectacle.)

Unfortunately for "Winter's War," it opens the week after the bar-raising and standard-setting, "The Jungle Book". As such, visually it pales in comparison to that groundbreaking, must-see epic. But it's still a good effort.

The big problems, however, come about two-thirds of the way into the film, when something cataclysmic happens with the whole production. This coincides with the very moment the usually amazing Charlize Theron appears on the screen, becoming the central figure in the action.

This is most surprising as I remember four years ago thinking Theron was quite mesmerizing as the villain in "Snow White and the Huntsman". But here, she is a ridiculous cartoon. Over the top in every single way, it's as though Theron feels she has to upstage Blunt, who, up to this point, was the main antagonist.

This sets the tone for the rest of the film, which begins a rapid decent into cheesiness, with hokey fighting sequences, and even more predictable outcomes, losing all of the goodwill it earned in the previous acts. I found myself quickly and completely losing interest in what had been a reasonably good film within these final few disastrous minutes; the great promise at the start devolving into one great big snooze.

If you can stop watching before Theron's final scenes, you may agree that it's not bad at all. But if you venture any further, beware of how close it comes to completely falling off a cliff. "The Huntsman: Winter's War" breaks no new ground, and is another sad example of Hollywood never knowing when to quit, desperately trying to capitalize on the success of a film that didn't need or warrant a sequel/prequel. Squandering the potential it had to be so much more, it is sadly largely forgettable and will ultimately soon be forgotten.

o Dwight Strachan is the host/producer of " Morning Blend" on Guardian Radio. He is a television producer and writer, and an avid TV history and film buff. Email dwight@nasguard.com and follow him on twitter @morningblend969.

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