Alice in Hollywoodland. The Sequel

Rating: 6/10 (15 March 2010)

Alice returns to Wonderland following the clock-ticking nicely attired rabbit. However all that she remembers from her previous encounter is in the form of vivid dreams. This time around Alice is brought back as a saviour of the realm corrupted by the madness of the Red Queen. The land has fallen into ruin and the blood-hungry rule has blocked out the joy. Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) has been patiently waiting at his tea party for the return of Alice. However Alice has grown and forgotten, which throws doubt among the other dwellers of Wonderland as to her true identity... Only the Mad Hatter casts away any doubt...
The moment I heard that this movie was being crafted by no other than Tim Burton one thought instinctively came to mind: Here is the person born to make Alice come to the big screen. Coupled with the tremendous talent of his two muses: Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter I held the distinct feeling that this may yet be Burton's masterpiece. Sadly after an inspiring start to the movie it all goes downhill with the aid of dumb-downed comedy punches, thickly spread saviour plot and conventional Hollywood type story-build. This movie is a far cry from what Coraline managed to achieve - a relatively wacky story delivered in a new murky-dark package accessible for kids and adults alike.
After the initial awe of the world into which Alice has been thrown you slowly settle in to the story itself. Similarly as with Avatar the plot just does not do itself justice. Instead of crafty and wacky we have a sub-par Sunday movie plot. The two stars of the picture - Helena Bonham-Carter and Johnny Depp do their best to make the movie different and refreshing, but Mad Hatter is severely overused and well... not mad enough (I actually had the impression that Mad Hatter was faking his madness).
The ending of the movie is rushed and bordering on insulting. I agree we don't need a Return of the King ending, but plot solution was handled extremely poorly. It could have been excused in a movie from a lesser director, but I feel Burton probably got trampled over by his producers with the ending to make it sweet, pretentious and dumb.
What didn't help me in the slightest is the Polish dubbing of the movie I watched. Especially the local Polish comedy actor (Czarek Pazura) dubbing Depp is appalling.