Movie Review: Alice in Wonderland’

It’s finally here! Tim Burton’s new phantasmagorical Real-3D remake of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ is a bore. All that eye-popping colorful imagery was just eye candy to sidetrack us from focusing on the anemic script adaptation. Even though it is one of Burton’s most beautiful films, it is not his best. This goes to show you that story is everything. The acting performances were vacuous and the entertainment value was surprisingly subpar. Will kids like it? Yeah sure, kids like almost anything that looks like a video game.

Burton’s adaptation centers around Alice (Mia Wasikowska), a young british teenager who falls down a tree hole and rediscovers all the marvels of a surreal place called Wonderland.

There is something to be said about the director’s need to create a movie that has been filmed so many times by so many people in so many countries. Does he think his will be the definitive one? Disney might argue that. Burton is a remake master and there is a major flaw with that method of filmmaking – you are always going against the original, therefore your version will most likely always be weaker.

Alice in Wonderland is not funny or charming but a bit fatuous and insipid. It drags in various places especially in the beginning. Much of this tediousness is due to the bad acting of the female protagonist Mia Wasikowska. Talk about needing some acting classes. She was neither convincing nor surprised at anything, but rather seemed arrogant and spoiled. Mr. Eccentric himself, Johnny Depp, couldn’t hit the magical and funny strides of his predecessor Captain Jack Sparrow from ‘Pirates of the Caribbean.’ The rest of the cast was mediocre at best, so was the whole movie.

On some high notes, the cinematography is outstanding, kudos to Dariusz Wolski for hitting a home run. The 3D experience was very fun, but any 3D film that comes out after Avatar is going to pale in comparison. Nevertheless, for those of you that rarely see three dimensional movies, it’s a trip and a half. The great moments are few and the yawning moments are plenty. If you think that the 3D scenes and the colorful visuals will be enough to amuse you, think again. The glasses will start to weigh on you and the english accent will begin to annoy you. That’s what happens when a movie you think is going to be great turns out be a dud!