While "Alice" may be Burton's weakest, it's sufficient

Rating: 6/10 (1 June 2010)

**1/2 out of (****)
After the plethora of advertisements and trailers, after the promotion in Hot Topic stores, and after all the insane hype, Burton's "Alice" has finally debuted. Now, that brings us to the major question: Does it live to its endless anticipation? Sadly, no. It's rather disappointing because of a weak script and any emotion that was in Burton's previous projects, has been completely drained out in "Wonderland". Sadly, if not for the scenery, this movie would have been beyond awful. The good news? The performances are great and the movie, visually, is the best I've seen. Is this a recommendation? Yes, but very slight.
Alice in Wonderland centers around Alice, who is about to get married, when she backs out and accidentally falls down a rabbit hole. (How amusing right?). There, she's in "Wonderland", also known as "Underland", and it's said that she is the Alice who will fight the Jabberwocky. Although, many have accused Alice of not being the true warrior who has the capability of killing the Jabberwocky. Although, Alice has more problems on her hands. The Red Queen is trying to reign over "Wonderland".
First, let's get to the negatives. We all know the "Burton" that gave us such powerful scripts as "Beetlejuice" and "Edward Scissorhands", but this time around, he gave us a weak script that is just as hollow as the rabbit hole Alice falls into in the beginning of the film. We never go in-depth with Wonderland. The only thing we do is just explore the Wonderland, that's pretty much it. Also, when the film tries to be emotional or trying to pluck on your heart strings, it seems forced in and never comes off as authentic. This movie is very heartless and lacks a lot of emotion. Furthermore, there are some nonsensical scenes that add nothing to the film, but are rather filler. Moreover, the 3-D is very shabby. It is conversion 3-D and you can tell within the first ten minutes. The picture looks grainy and very unnatural. To add to that, the opening and resolution of the film are highly disappointing.
Now, onto the positives. I did really love the characters, including Alice. All were root-worthy and surpassed my moderate expectations. Moreover, I thought the scenery was just beautiful. Every scene is polished to the fullest extent. Very vibrant and certainly worth the look. Furthermore, I thought the movie was very entertaining. For the most part, the movie catches your attention. To add to that, the characters were also very logical and complex as well.
While it seems more like a bash than a recommendation, I did enjoy Burton's Alice in Wonderland. However, it is very flawed. The script is stale, the movie is emotionally drained, and it lacks substance. Although, with great performances, beautiful scenery, and a great pace, this "Alice" is sufficient. Even if Burton may never hit a home run like he used to, at least he didn't go through the route of Ridley Scott. Albeit, I do advise a matinée. And if you have to pick a dimension, pick 2-D.