Writer / director Tommy Wirkola loses little time on subtlety or intelligence, instead it's straight into cartoonish, gory, violence as leather-clad, wise-cracking duo Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) go about the business of killing all witches. They may have met their match in uber-black witch Muriel (the apparently unaging Famke Janssen) and her deadly coven drawn from all four corners of the world. The action is over-the-top, the CGI excessive and the storyline ridiculous, but despite all that it is great fun. Obviously constructed not to be taken seriously, it offers a fast-moving thrill ride, some great witch designs, more than a few good laughs and a great central pairing in Renner and Arterton. It is good, dark, tongue-in-cheek fun and nothing more. ( )

Dumb fun. Lots of special effects and partly anachronistic technology. ( )