 Grimm’s fairy tales have captivated TV viewers lately, and an equally large audience probably will lap up the campy 3D extravaganza Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters when it opens in theaters this weekend. (There’s a good joke later when the adult Hansel takes a medieval version of an insulin injection to help him counteract that sugar addiction.) With a running time of less than 90 minutes, the film is smart enough not to wear out its welcome. It was written and directed by Tommy Wirkola, whose previous claim to fame was a horror comedy about Nazi zombies, and produced by Adam McKay and Will Ferrell , whose Gary Sanchez Productions only makes comedies. Hansel - Jeremy Renner 
 
 Gretel - Gemma Arterton 
 
 Muriel - Famke Janssen 
 
 Sheriff Berringer - Peter Stormare 
 
 Ben - Thomas Mann 
 
 Edward - Derek Mears 
 
 Mina - Pihla Viitala 
 
 To his credit, "Hansel & Gretel" writer-director Tommy Wirkola never takes the pic's premise -- the titular Grimm siblings grow into wisecracking, primitive-machine-gun-packing bounty hunters, thanks to that fateful spell in the gingerbread house -- too seriously. Director-screenwriter: Tommy Wirkola. Produced by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Kevin Messick, Beau Flynn. Executive producers: Denis L. Stewart, Chris Henchy, Tripp Vinson. Camera (Deluxe color), Michael Bonvillain; editor, Jim Page; music, Atli Orvarsson; production designer, Stephen Scott; supervising art director, Andreas Olshausen; art directors, Anja Mueller, Stephan Gessler; set decorator, Bernhard Henrich; costume designer, Marlene Stewart; sound (Dolby Digital/Datasat/SDDS), Mac Ruth; supervising sound editor, Karen Baker Landers; re-recording mixers, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell; special effects supervisors, Gerd Feuchter, Bernd Rautenberg; special effects, Nefzer SFX; visual effects supervisor, Jon Farhat; stereographer, Florian Maier; stunt coordinators, David Leitch, Ben Cooke, Alister Mazzotti; assistant director, Chris Castaldi; second unit director, David Leitch; second unit camera, Paul Hughen; casting, Deborah Aquila, Tricia Wood, Jen Smith.
– Watch the trailer for Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, and you might find yourself thinking, "Wait, are they serious?" The answer is no, they're not—the movie, co-produced by Will Ferrell, is consciously campy—but that doesn't mean it's good. Here's a taste of the disdain critics are tossing at the Brothers Grimm update: "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," writes Lou Lumenick in a no-star New York Post review. Jeremy Renner (Hansel) "looks vaguely embarrassed throughout," and Famke Janssen (the "Great Witch") is on record as saying she did this "to pay off her mortgage." "With a running time of under 90 minutes, the film is smart enough not to wear out its welcome. But that’s the only sign of true intelligence in this juvenile caper," writes Stephen Farber at the Hollywood Reporter. "The picture was never intended to be taken seriously" but it's "missing a genuine sense of wit." Andrew Barker at Variety tries to come up with some bright spots, and winds up saying that it's "not outrageously dumber" than similar movies like Van Helsing, and that it "boasts a nice title credit sequence." Yeah, not high praise. "A film with a concept this strange has no right to be so dully formulaic," he writes. "Viewers may be surprised to find themselves yawning as yet another witch is ripped apart limb from limb." "Look closely at Hansel & Gretel and you’ll see faint traces of what could have been (and perhaps once was) a clever satire," like Hansel's "sugar sickness" (aka diabetes) brought on by his days of eating candy-covered houses, writes Matt Singer at Screen Crush. But Renner and Gemma Arterton (Gretel) take their characters just a bit too seriously. "The result: a movie that's a joke, instead of a comedy."