Not bad but could have been so much better.

Rating: 6/10 (12 September 2012)

I was really revved up about seeing this movie. The trailers and the designs had me pumped. When I left the theater, my feeling was that while it was pretty decent, it felt underwhelming. Burton seemed like an ideal director for this oft-filmed tale and yet it lacks magic or wonder. In all fairness to Burton, however, it's more the fault of the script-writer Linda Woolverton. It isn't a horrible script mind you. But it tries too hard to give more fantasy archetypes to a story that didn't really need any. For example, the caterpillar becomes the wise sage, and the Hatter is the loner who connects with the hero (think Aragorn). Also, when she throws in little nods to the books, it comes off as insecure as if to say "OK. There see? I haven't messed this story up." I liked Depp's Hatter in the first scene but after a while he devolved into more of the bland Disney prince with a few eccentricities here and there. Waszikoska (sp?) is not a very interesting Alice, but again the problem seems to lie more in the script than the performance.
So what did I like about it? The CGI characters look really cool owing quite a lot to Tenniel's original drawings with a very, very subtle Burtonesque edge. In fact the CGI creations are the real scene stealers. The backgrounds are lovely to look at but I think Burton's real sets work better because they add an extra level of magic and awe (like his stop-motion sets). I might be one of the few that did like Hathaway as the White Queen. Say what you will about her performance, but it was just so over-the-top that it was one of the highlights of the movie.
So all in all, this is a pretty hit-and-miss film. The dialog is pretty mediocre and some of the action scenes feel un-actiony. But on the other hand it is nice to look at and a good chunk of the actors try to work with what little material they have. If you want a really good version of the story, then I suggest either reading the books or watching the original Disney cartoon.