Why all the hate?

Rating: Null/10 (6 June 2010)

I have read some of the reviews that have been posted on here, as well as on Empire and so forth and I just need to ask: Why does everyone hate this film? Granted it's not Burton's best (unlike say Edward Scissorhands or Sweeney Todd) but it is Burton showing what he does best: create a weird and wonderful (primarily visual) world. Johnny Depp is not spectacularly awful as the Mad Hatter, but I do feel that the use of the Scottish accent was over-egging the pudding just a little bit. Mia Wasikowska is going to be a major star in the future, and this is the major leg-up for her that will attract people to see The Kids Are Alright and Jane Eyre, which sounds it will be fantastic. She is by far and a way a bright light that is a bout to explode into a supernova in Hollywood.
The rest of the cast perform their roles terrifically. Anne Hathaway's White Queen is sweet and sinister in equal measures, but I feel they could have done more with her character, perhaps showing her dark side a little more. For Bonham Carter, Rickman and Fry, the roles of Red Queen, Caterpillar and Cheshire Cat respectively, fit like gloves. Their voices, as well as actual performances, in Ms Carter's case, made me feel as though they are the defining representations of the characters. Although, it has to be said, Bonham Carter does seem to be channelling Queenie from Blackadder to a great degree.
Michael Sheen, Barbara Windsor, Timothy Spall and Matt Lucas all scrabble for screen time, and they all get it, and are perfectly adequate in their performances. The main trouble that most people seem to have with the film is the story. Granted, it does seem to be in the vein of Hook and Return to Oz in the sense that the Heroine has to return to their childhood adventureland and discover their destiny. In that respect, the film can't decide if it's a re-imagining or a sequel, which may infuriate some devout Carroll-heads. But to be fair, the original story of Alice has been told so many times by so many different directors that if Burton had stuck religiously to the book,. there would have been no surprises or excitement for anyone.
Also, to those who say that this is Burton's least personal film; Alice is an outcast in Victorian society, who then finds companionship in The Hatter, who's just as much an outcast as she is, and then goes off to slay a giant monster to save her friends and prove she's capable of taking charge of her life. This is what runs throughout most of Burton's movies: The outsider making their own way in the world. And who says the film is not dark enough: the girl has to make her way across a moat by usign decapitated heads as stepping stones!
In conclusion, if you (like me) love Burton, go ahead and see it and decide what you make of it. It is a crazy, wonderful mad film with great performances and spectacular visual effects. It's just not a great one.