Had potential but fell apart at the seams

Rating: 5/10 (6 March 2010)

I am going to try to keep the spoilers minimal here.
OK, first of all, I am a huge fan of all things Alice. From Lewis Carrol's books to the various cinematic adaptations (namely the animated Disney feature) to the American McGee PC game. I love them all. So when I heard there was to be another installment to the series I was excited, even after learning it wasn't to be based on the American McGee game. I was, however, a little apprehensive about casting Burton as the director. He is very hit and miss with me. Some of his movies are great (Batman '89, Beetlejuice, and Edward Scissorhands), some are awful (Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), and some are ridiculously overrated. So I felt this was going to be a toss of the dice at best. Well, enough of an intro, let's get into it.
The Good: Characters: Most of the main characters from the original made their appearances here. From the White Rabbit to the Hatter, March Hare, and Doormouse, to the Caterpillar and, of course, (my favorite) the Cheshire Cat. For the most part, these characters were done very well and you really got the impression that you already knew them (assuming that you are familiar with Alice in Wonderland prior to watching this). I thought that Alice was played wonderfully as for, despite my colossal dubiosity, the Hatter. My boy the Cheshire Cat was perfect and most of the other characters were portrayed very well too. Then there was Crispin Glover. His character wasn't very deep and was kind of bad, but just seeing him on screen was nice. Only thing that would have made it better had been if Biff had been there too. The cast, however, was not perfect. I will come to that soon.
Animation: Not that it should arrive as any great surprise coming from the company that has given us Pixar, but the animation was spectacular. From the moment Alice falls down the rabbit hole you feel as if you are actually right there beside her. It was really quite lovely.
The Average: Soundtrack: I was really expecting quite a bit more from a Danny Elfman score. This one was really quite mediocre. Not atrocious, but nothing really stuck out and I didn't feel the music had any effect whatsoever on the mood. Really quite a shame.
The Bad: 3D(?): I am really beating myself up for shelling out the extra $5 to see this movie in 3D. I was led to believe that the 3D was going to be amazing and something that would rival or maybe even match what was given to us in Avatar. Nothing could be further from the truth. You could barely even tell in many parts of the film that there was any 3D at all. As a matter of fact, during at least twenty scenes I took off my glasses and noticed no change whatsoever. Now, ordinarily the subtlety wouldn't have bothered me. It might have even been welcome. But when I'm shelling an extra 50% for this feature, I expect it to be a little bit more prominent.
Cast: Yeah, the crap really balances out the good in this department. For instance, Helena Bonham Carter was really...REALLY...bad. I am convinced the only reason she got this part was because she is shagging the director. And I was surprised, because normally I really like her. Aside from Helena, Anne Hathaway was a train wreck. She was so bad that it wouldn't surprise me if she received a Razzie for her performance as the White Queen. I really wanted to claw out my eyes and puncture my eardrums with a pencil every time she appeared on screen. Then there is Christopher Lee. Now, I love this guy. I think he is a fantastic actor and what he did in this movie was great. But....he had, MAYBE, 3 lines. What a way to squander such an obscene amount of talent. If anything they should have given Crispin Glover's part to Lee instead.
And finally...
The Ending: Without going into too many details, I will sum up the ending with a simple expression. Alice ---> Eowyn. W...T...F...It was beyond retarded. The entire last act had me groaning and checking my watch. It absolutely ruined what would, otherwise, have been a decent Alice flick.
So in conclusion, the movie was not horrible. In fact, I really liked the first hour or so. Unfortunately, once Alice transforms into the Daughter of Freaking Rohan things turn to @!#?@! If you do go to see this, don't watch it in 3D. You're just wasting your money.