"19-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror." (imdb.com)
Viewed in mid-March 2010
I am a fan of Tim Burton's live-action movies. Films like "Edward Scissorhands", "Big Fish", "Batman" (1989), etc...The man knows what he's doing, and when he gets his hands on an old story which people know and love, we all know it's not going to resemble it's original self. (Or maybe it's a more faithful adaptation of the original?) Anyway, I'd been looking forward to this film for quite some time, and I was excited to see Burton's vision. I knew that it would be nothing like the well-loved Disney version (trippy as it is), but I expected to be entertained--and I certainly was! However, it wasn't quite what I was expecting...
Burton is famous for "Burtonizing" things. He has a specific and recognizable way of seeing his creative world. Distortions, unfamiliar movements, haunting music, and an almost gothic view are trademarks of his. Thus, I knew this would be dark and rather scary. (Can I just say something to all you parents out there? If your child is terrified of monsters and isn't really sure s/he wants to see a 3-D movie about them, what makes you think a Tim Burton movie will be at all appropriate?!? I don't care if it is Disney!) Coming back to the point...Burton is also famous for putting his own little twist on things. Eager beavers waiting for this film's release have known for months, even years, that this film was NOT meant to be a faithful retelling of the old story. It was designed to be a sequel, a new story with familiar characters. Burton is not known for retelling stories exactly as they should be. (You need to call Peter Jackson for that, folks.)
That all being said, I enjoyed this film. It was intriguing, visually nice, and engrossing. It was not my favorite film, and I wasn't entirely satisfied with it, but it was definitely worth watching. Unfortunately, I saw it in 3-D...This is the first film I've ever seen in 3-D where the 3-D did not affect the viewing of the film (Clash of the Titans is the second film, but it was waaaaay worse there...see my other review.) I could remove my 3-D glasses and still comfortably view the film. Alice also did not contain any "3-D tricks" (characters reaching out towards the audience, objects being thrown at us, flying creatures aiming for our heads, etc.), which means that I forgot it was in 3-D, except for the flat paper pop-up look that the film struggles against. The 3-D was not added to the film except as an afterthought, which made it look terrible and forced and cheap. Save the $3.50 on the 3-D upcharge...it's not worth it.
NEGATIVES:
>>I don't remember any profanities.
>>I don't remember any drugs or alcohol, unless you consider the constant size-changing of Alice due to the cookies/tea/sponge cake/mushrooms/whatever the heck else she eats or drinks to be an effect of outer influences.
>>Religion doesn't really enter the picture around these parts, and sex is non-existent except for the sultriness and suggestion rarely exhibited by the Red Queen.
>>Violence is here, but it's not really overwhelming. It's more of a blindsided-by-gross instance. We see bodyless heads, snot everywhere, an eye gets pulled out, several characters are pursued by a frightening monster, the ever-creepy Cheshire Cat pulls a gross stunt near the end, *SPOILER ALERT!!!* an enormous monster is killed and its head goes bouncing down flights of stairs, ending in a purple-bloody SLAP! against the pavement.
Johnny Depp is fantastic, as always. The only thing is that there's so much character development on him that we miss out on alot of opportunities to explore Alice herself--and yet we still find ourselves at the end of the film with no true attachment to the Hatter. The film struggles with random scenes or behaviors that are extremely distracting--such as an unprovoked breakdance, out-of-left-field laughter, or one character "floating" around like an overdramatic Shakespearean actor. The new Alice is good, but...not that good.
I give this movie 4 out of 6 stars.
So that everyone (including myself) may benefit from it, please feel free to leave your own personal opinion of this film.
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