Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Rating: 5/10 (17 January 2012)

For over a century people have been saying that the Carroll's literary masterpiece was in dire need of a "chosen-one, destined to fulfill a prophecy" storyline. Burton has turned Alice, Wonderland, The Mad Hatter etc. into a paint-by-numbers fantasy adventure along the lines of Harry Potter. It's messy and degrading. The Mad Hatter is a hatter and he is mad, but when you spend that kind of money on Depp, you should also have the Hatter well trained in swordplay. That way, he can be there in the final battle. Characters limp around without much to do, but at least the actors make them enjoyable. The film is entertaining, but could have been impressive with a little downtime. For years now, films have gradually been cutting the "slower" moments from films, not realising that these instances add weight to the action. The film flew by and I barely remember anything. It was a beautiful, but also nauseating, film. As for the "futterwhack"? Never before has any scene been so out of place, forced, pointless, and idiotically confusing. Tim Burton's worst film.