Alice In Wonderland A Decent Re-Imagining Of A Classic Tale

Rating: 7/10 (19 June 2010)

Alice In Wonderland is a decent re-imaging of a class tale from director Tim Burton who does a good job of making this movie that might have flaws but I still enjoyed it for what the film was. Johnny Depp of course is excellent as always giving audiences a much different Mad Hatter than we've seen before. He's nearly unrecognizable under all the make up and the voice Depp came up with is fitting for this interpretation of the Mad Hatter. Depp brings his usual charisma to the part and his character may not appear for the first 30 minutes but luckily he's in it a lot more after that. Depp continues to show audiences and critics his talent as an actor in this one. Anne Hathaway is all right in her short screen time as The White Queen despite not having a whole lot to do. Hathaway does provide a little comic relief and she brings what she can to her small role in the film. Helena Bonham Carter is effective as the villainous Red Queen who seems to enjoy saying "Off with their head" when someone displeases her for any reason. Carter like Hathaway offers the film some humor and does what her roles requires. Crispin Glover is decent as The Red Queen's right hand man Stayne who likes big woman. He did seem to go a little over the top at times but Glover still turns in an okay performance. Newcomer Mia Wasikowska is impressive as 19 year old Alice who returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure. She holds her own against Depp, Hathaway, and Carter on screen in their scenes together. Wasikowski proves her talent as an actress with her performance as Alice who must find the strength within herself to put an end to the Red Queen's reign that has left a large portion of the imaginary world of Wonderland in ruins. The voice talents of Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, Alan Rickman, Matt Lucas, and Timothy Spall are effective in their small roles that are more like cameos and extended appearances but they do what their roles require from them. Marton Csokas in a blink and you missed it cameo does what he can with his very brief part as Alice's father Charles. The rest of the relatively unknown cast are okay but no one stands out. The action which mostly happens in the second half and third act are well executed. The special effects are quite good even if you can tell most of it is obviously CGI. The world they created for the magical Wonderland however is just as impressive giving audiences a world where almost anything's possible. The pacing of the film was a little slow at times before the action started to kick into high gear, and some characters lacked development but there wasn't a whole lot I didn't enjoy about Alice In Wonderland. The second half set the stage for some action in the third act (the kind we've seen in Transformers, Iron Man, and X-Men 3 to name a few) which isn't necessarily a bad thing I guess because it's well executed. Overall Alice In Wonderland is a pretty good re-imaging of a famous tale that was better than expected. So if this sounds like a movie you'd enjoy, than chances are you'll have a good time watching it. Alice in Wonderland has a simple story, drama, action, some humor, a little suspense, and solid performances by the cast (especially Depp and Wasikowska) who make this movie worth the time to watch.