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 '' also 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 does n'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 , however , was much 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 " is n'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 do n'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 does n'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 is n'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 . " 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 is n'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 do n'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 . The film was nominated for the 40th People 's Choice Awards in the category Favorite Horror Movie , but lost to '' Carrie ''
40th People 's Choice Awards
40th People's Choice Awards
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters