Kristen Stewart As Snow White: The Fairest Of Them All?

Critics weigh in on KStew's first major post-'Twilight' performance in 'Huntsman.'
By Terri Schwartz

Kristen Stewart in "Snow White and the Huntsman"
Photo: Universal Pictures

So far, the 2012 MTV Movie Awards have offered up quite a few treats from "Snow White and the Huntsman."

Fans who were lucky enough to attend on Tuesday were treated to a special screening of the movie, and the rest of us got an exclusive new clip introducing the seven eight dwarves. And, of course, the cast will be appearing en masse to present at the Movie Awards on Sunday.

We're flattered that leading lady Kristen Stewart is spending so much of her busy opening weekend with us. "Snow White and the Huntsman" hit theaters Friday (June 1) with mixed positive reviews, but we're more interested in seeing how Stewart did in her first post-"Twilight" blockbuster.

Read on to hear what the critics had to say about her performance:

The Fairest of Them All
"With Snow, played by this girl with the pointy chin, it's the inner glow that counts, as it should be. 'Twilight' fans will likely vigorously disagree with this entire assessment and tell you that Kristen Stewart is the prettiest girl and the greatest actress in the world. At the risk of inflaming them, the truth is that her intimate, 'Twilight'-mined knowledge of being the tentative, uncomfortable object of obsession dovetails nicely with what the trio of writers (Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock and Hossein Amini) apparently had in mind for this Snow White. This is no award-winning revelatory performance, but Stewart holds her own." — Mary Pols, Time

The Warrior Princess
"Ms. Stewart, stumbling through the forest and racing through an awkward, Shakespeare-lite speech to her hastily mustered good-guy army, understands the job perfectly and undertakes it in good faith. Her Snow White is part of an interesting new breed of warrior princesses — Katniss Everdeen is their current leader — whose ascendance reflects the convergence of commercial calculations and cultural longings. Long may they reign. " — A.O. Scott, The New York Times

The Shift From "Twilight"
"As for Snow White, she's been beautifully reconceived as both majestic maiden and fierce warrior. But such a strong heroine requires a confident, muscular portrayal. And Stewart's characteristic hesitancy — so fitting for the "Twilight" franchise — undercuts her character's impact. Though designed as a regal Joan of Arc, Snow too often comes across as an overwhelmed Bella Swan." — Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

The Character
"An evil spell nearly does Snow White in, but it's lifted in the nick of time. The strangest spell afflicts Kristen Stewart; she can't seem to imbue Snow White with anything more than a semblance of feeling. That spell never lifts, but it doesn't make much difference in the end because the forces of good manage to work around it." — Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

The Final Word
"Kristen Stewart, freed from the bonds of 'Twilight,' morphs convincingly from a skittish girl into a determined warrior princess. Her Snow White knows that Evil Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron), her stepmother, murdered her father on their marriage bed and now wants Snow dead so she can eat her heart out. Literally. Otherwise, there's no way the Queen can stay the fairest in the land, since Snow is looking good." — Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Head over to MovieAwards.MTV.com to vote for your favorite flicks now! The 21st annual MTV Movie Awards air live this Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET.

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• Snow White And The Huntsman

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