People

At the movies

‘Hansel & Gretel’ a brother-sister act

 
 

Arterton and Renner
Arterton and Renner
HANDOUT / MCT

You won’t see too much sibling rivalry in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, out Friday.

Think brother and sister bonding — a la Dexter without all the plastic wrap.

Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton play the grown-up versions from the famed Brothers Grimm fairy tale. The orphaned duo are bounty hunters who track nasty witches who have been snatching up children to munch.

Arterton, who has a sister and three stepsisters, felt drawn to the role because of the special relationship between her and Renner’s character.

“That was a big selling point for me,” she said from The W South Beach Hotel. “They can have, like, this banter but also have a bond that’s stronger than a romantic bond.”

To aid in their battle against evil forces, the pair carry enormously powerful, magical weapons.

“They were cumbersome, for sure,” Renner said. “But I thought they made them look very creative.”

“Yes, very heavy, especially my cross bow,” agreed Arterton, who has done her share of action films ( Prince of Persia, Clash of the Titans, Quantam of Solace). “I can’t remember how many times I smacked myself in the head with one of them.”

“Yeah, I got banged up a lot,” chimed in Renner, who looked pretty exhausted from his previous evening attending the Golden Globes in Los Angeles. “I’m being held up with duct tape right now.”

Just wait until the baby comes, guy: Renner is reportedly expecting with his ex girlfriend, Canadian model Sonni Pacheco.

Since starring as a real-life serial killer in 2002’s Dahmer, the 42-year-old Oscar nominee ( The Hurt Locker) has jumped into the action genre as well with roles The Avengers, Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol and The Bourne Legacy.

“I was just excited to do this,” Renner said of H&G, his first time working with 3-D cameras. “The concept was very cool to me.”

Though the film is based on a fairly innocent bedtime story, the 2013 redux carries an R rating.

“It’s pretty gory,” explained Arterton, referencing one scene in which she gets pummeled by a cursed costar’s exploding insides.

“It took about four takes, and each time I had to get cleaned up,” said the Brit, 27. “It was quite hard to keep a straight face. The laughter was right there.”

Famke Janssen plays the head witch, and her face gets worked over in the CGI department. Despite the long nose, hideous teeth, etc., the actress had a hard time looking ugly.

“She’s gorgeous, are you kidding me? She’s a Bond girl! ” Renner said. “But you didn’t smell her.”

Ha-ha. Seriously: What is it about witches that most people find so frightening?

“They are the ultimate female villains, aren’t they?” Arterton said. “And they eat children. That’s the lowest of the low.”

“They’re animal like,” Renner added . “Dirty, dirty creatures!”

Madeleine Marr

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