What happened Tim Burton?

Rating: 2/10 (5 March 2010)

So far this year has been the year of directors who are going downhill. From Kevin Smith's Cop Out last week, the good directors making bad movies continues with Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland. Based on the book by Lewis Carroll, the film is too long, too boring, and too bland. From the little known short film Frankenweenie to Beetlejuice to Edward Scissorhands, Burton has shown us what an amazing talent he is. Unfortunately, his adaptation of Alice In Wonderland is just plain bad. Burton is such a good director, it's disappointing that his direction is so bleak. For the first 30-45 minutes, the film is visually stunning, if not still a bad film. The film actually starts out as a really great period piece, but that doesn't last for more than 10 minutes. Then the film goes into a fantasy that is nowhere close to fantastic. It feels like it's just piling anything that could use special effects. Johnny Depp is a great actor, and he's good here but this feels like his same character named Edward Scissorhands, and it feels like Depp should of had his character in that movie. Helena Bonham Carter is the only good thing in the film. She is fantastic as the evil Red Queen. Anne Hathaway is gorgeous, as always, and although she is a great actress she brings nothing to the table as the nice White Queen. The Red Queen-White Queen plot plays out like a really bad version of The Wizard Of Oz. Mia Wasikowska is alright as Alice, but isn't really anything great. An unrecognizable Crispin Glover is alright as the evil Stayne, Boyfriend of The Red Queen. Overall, the film is terrible, and you should do nothing but avoid it.