Mirror Mirror

Fans of Snow White — either of the original Grimm fairy tale or the iconic animated film — might do best to stay away from Mirror Mirror, a dark and ill-conceived re-imagining that might have been titled Snow White: Warrior Princess.

Instead of wishing wells and jovial work songs, this feminist version has swashbuckling training montages and mean-spirited dwarfs on expandable stilts.

It also has Julia Roberts, who seems to have fun chewing the scenery as the wicked queen. But her star power isn’t enough to save a script that attempts to cater to both children and adults but will likely please neither.

As the film opens, the corrupt queen is ruling an impoverished kingdom that includes controlling the throne of the orphaned princess Snow White (Lily Collins). After escaping an attempted murder by the queen jealous of her beauty, Snow White winds up in the forest in the care of a gang of diminutive thieves, numbering seven, of course. Meanwhile, the queen tries to marry a prince (Armie Hammer) who instead has her eyes on the princess who is poised to oust the queen and return prosperity to the kingdom.

The film is based on the original Grimm version of the story (with one of the primary dwarves named accordingly), but the script by Melisa Wallack and Jason Keller (Machine Gun Preacher) can’t decide whether it wants to be a faithful adaptation or a lampoon, complete with animated effects and sarcastic anachronisms in the dialogue.

Visually, however, Mirror Mirror is a much more pleasant experience, as you might expect from a project directed by India native Tarsem Singh (Immortals). Both the wintry cinematography by Brendan Galvin and exquisite costumes by the late Eiko Ishioka are highlights.

The classic story has seen its share of adaptations and re-tellings over the years, with mixed results, but some of the narrative choices made here are questionable. Snow White wields a sword, the prince is turned into a bumbling airhead, and — perhaps worst of all — the quirky dwarfs aren’t given enough screen time to develop distinct personalities.

Collins (The Blind Side) and Hammer (J. Edgar) look the part, while Nathan Lane supplies the obligatory comic relief as the queen’s reluctant henchman.

None of them, however, can rescue a project that is big on spectacle but short on both laughs and thrills.

Rated PG, 106 minutes.