Well no. I wanted to like this movie ALOT. And I just.. didnt. And from the reaction around me, either did most. No amount of IMAX or 3D charm can make up for the fact that its half as good as it should be. The effects are wonderful, the acting is o.k, but its just not convincing. Its not the crazy movie we WANT it to be. Actually, it's far from crazy at all.
Whilst still exploring the characters in the new world Alice has fallen into,( adding a CGI acid trip of slick proportions) its incredibly slow & can drag at times . Its lavish, its lush but doesn't emmerses you in the world of wonderland. A visual spectacle for sure, just not what one would expect from Burton. The problem is the obvious interference from Disney. Turning a classic story, written with an older more twisted reader in mind, has now been blanded into a family package, mass marketed, and that is where the movie falls. It doesn't know if it wants to be a children's film or adult feature. Its homogenized, in a similar way to American Idol. Packaged for an audience who don't have to think. If you have an understanding of the book, you will be disappointed, if not mildly offended. "down the rabbit hole" has lost its meaning altogether. Its also a hybrid of characters from both books, which at times is confusing.
The tale is still there. In Wonderland, Alice meets Tweedledum and Tweedledee (voice of Matt Lucas), a chain smoking caterpillar (voice of Alan Rickman) & the space age Cheshire Cat (voice of Stephen Fry) Alice, it seems, is destined to end the Red Queen's reign by slaying her feared dragon beast, the Jabberwocky.
Instead of Alice being a shy, polite girl, she is one of the modern era. An ingenue, who is more Ghost World than Pollyana with a touch of Joan of Arc. She has a quiet intelligence, & a hint of curiosity. Yet at times, she comes off like a spoilt, petulant child, which become really annoying. Traditionally she is the sanity in the chaos, here she is just another character.
Helena Bonham Carter is perfectly cast as the Red Queen ( a hybrid of the Queen of Hearts & the character from the 1872 sequel "Through the Looking Glass"). It works, she is not only funny, entertaining, but alarmingly evil & ...fierce! No one else could have executed this role better (maybe Madonna?). She rampages, breathes venom & is perversely charming. But even her "off with her head" becomes grating, and you kind of wished she had a better script writer. Johhny Depp is great (not brilliant, unlike his portrayal of Wonka), but he isn't convincing that he is in fact, mad. The other problem with "alice" is that its not bizarre enough to be "Alice In Wonderland". Its creativity look like it has been drained by the Disney Powers-that-be. This movie could do with a dose of the 'strange" and then it may fly.
Anne Hathaway is miscast as the White Queen. Though all actors need novelty roles at times, this just doesn't suit her. You kind of ask yourself.."why"? And the use of Avril Lavigne to sing the theme is a wrong choice. Not her best work either. She is at her best when she hates boys, and her teachers, and doesn't want to be taken seriously. Adult thematic music don't work. Her voice (even with help from auto tune), is grating. Shows you cant get apple juice out of a pear. A far better choice would have been Lady Gaga or even Rihanna.
For a movie, well hyped, it falls so short of expectation. You know something is wrong when things don't go crazy when Depp graces the screen. It needs to be crazy, off the wall, bizarre, and more beetlejuice / wonka and less disney. This is too tame, too PC and way too christian, for a tale like this. "Alice" purists (yes there are many) will be very displeased & annoyed at this adaptation.
If you are hoping for a movie that you can take the kids to, to which they wont actually understand, but will keep them quiet for 2 hours, this is the movie. Don't hope for anything deeper, or more "off the wall", because it just don't deliver.
