Tim Burton drags us down the rabbit-hole kicking and screaming in this adaptation of the children?s book Alice In Wonderland, managing to take away any of the wonderment that many may have felt for this beloved tale.
You would think that the pairing of Burton with Lewis Carroll‘s famous series would be a film of visual splendour, but Burton?s approach here is to suck any life out of this Wonderland, and many of its inhabitants too. Visually, its reliance on special effects makes this world seem artificial and Burton?s unique aesthetics look uninspired. You never feel that you are walking around this world with Alice and her chums.
Alice (Mia Wasikowska) could do with a lick of life herself, with the standard Burton turn-on for making his leads look like they have an iron deficiency – but Alice matches this with a lack of personality as well. She coasts through the film with this mystical absentness, attributing much of her surroundings to a bad dream and constantly never reacting to the situation with any real conviction. Much of this film rests on her shoulders and it isn't long before the weight has crushed poor Wasikowska.
Not that she is the main draw here – my god – let's not forget that this movie has Johnny Depp in it. Yes, it's that wacky bed-fellow of Burton, turning up looking like some weird 80?s Madonna music video, while wearing Carrot Top?s pubes on his head. His performance is eccentric to the point that any fascination you may have once had for the character is quickly forgotten. Depp even supplies a comedy Scottish accent at times – because it worked so well for Mike Myers in Austin Powers.
The film does have its moments; mainly in the form of The Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), whose inflated head and matching ego find the right balance between being a menacing beast and a humorous addition to the world of Underland. It seems too that Stephen Fry and Matt Lucas got the memo, making both the Cheshire Cat and the Tweedle twins captivating in their small amount of screen time.
You may think we are skirting around the plot here and in honesty we're not – it is just there is no plot to talk about in the first place. There is some guff about Alice fighting some dragon and finding her way to The White Queen (Anne Hathaway), but it's pretty irrelevant, taking second fiddle to Depp and the unimpressive visuals.
The White Queen herself floats around pointlessly with the plot, Anne Hathaway playing her as if walking on air and talking like she's on the edge of sexual climax – it makes for excruciating viewing.
When Alice finally confronts the dragon on a CG chessboard, the conclusion feels so out of place with the world. The final battle is Burton just regurgitating every other unsatisfying Hollywood climax but with his added visual pretentiousness. Throw in a moral message that is as confused as the audience and you have one of the most disappointing films in recent years.
And if you thought that the 3D would assault you senses, then wait until you hear the closing credits song by Avril Lavigne – clearly Wonderland?s most horrific creation.
?Spray Rating: 2/5
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Mark Roma says
I agree with you greatly. from an artistic perspective, it seems like Burton worked in 3D just to make the studio happy and to make his audience have something to talk about. I won’t repeat everything from my blog but… http://bit.ly/96HSTC
Thirteen says
I had so much expectations for this… is it really that bad?
stella says
It’s outrageous how modern nonentities mangle the great stories of the past with their “new versions” just because they can’t even throw up their own crappy tale.
Kard says
I bet the movie is better than what these guys have to say about it, after all this is a gossip blog and you know they almost always say negative stuff about everything. So I would advise going to see the movie yourself and decide. This is essentially a tween story not an adult story, and this website is supposidly for grownups so take what they say with a grain of salt.
Jim says
I just saw Avril preform the new Alice song on the tonight show and I thought it was really good.
linda says
i totally saw Madonna in this Mad Hatter character!! that movie was just f’in awful, unbelievably bad. i’m amazed at how creatively uninspired this industry’s “best” can get. but then there’s millions who love avril… ?