Stylish but no substance

Rating: 4/10 (5 March 2010)

Waiting in line for a while for the film, the fact that its a big title with big Hollywood stars - even perhaps, other than Avatar the biggest film this year, I approached this film with high hopes. The film visually is very impressive, the 'Wonderland' created is striking and the character designs are done well and in a Tim Burton-esquire fashion. The layout is not however as Gothic as other Tim Burton works, which for some may come as a relief. The acting on the whole also wasn't too bad. Not the best Johnny Depp performance that I think he has produced, but nevertheless a good performance and an interesting take on the Mad Hatter character. The other characters in the film do not however seem to receive enough character development for the audience to comfortably get into the story, which in many respects seems frayed and untidy. The plot itself is something of a let down. Being distant from the original naturally would annoy fans of the original text, and annoyed me a little bit; but this isn't the direction Burton was approaching so I suppose it is understandable. The plot however seems to diverge too far from the original FEEL of Alice in Wonderland; the storyline features a much more predominant Mad Hatter (Thankgod cos it probably saved the film) and some storyline twists such as the duel with the Jabberwocky towards the end seemed rushed, largely out of place and bizarre. As a result the audience can never really get into the film because the plot doesn't seem to be written well enough to draw the viewer into an interesting or gripping story. The 3d effects are no Avatar standard but still add to the film, but I don't feel that seeing the film in 2d would effect the entertainment value greatly. I would give it 4 stars because there are worse films out there, and the acting (notably Stephen Fry providing the voice of the Cheshire Cat and Depp as the Mad Hatter) enable the film to not be a farce. In the end for lovers of the original I warn you to stay away or be disappointed;for many who see this as a big film which might be worth seeing I don't think it lives up to the hype. The film also seems to succeed in spite of rather than due to Burton's plot. 4/10 Not great, but not terrible. Having viewed it in the cinema I don't feel it has enough draw to warrant a DVD purchase