Sleepy Hollow's trees get re-used in a bland trip to nowhere in particular

Rating: 2/10 (19 March 2010)

Jan Svankmeyer made a great Alice back in 1988. It's quirky, surreal, dark, dreamlike and unnerving. Tim Burton's film on the other hand is a mixture of seen-it-all-before characters headed by the amazing Mr Depp in his worst screen role since Secret Window (I know a lot of people like it, I thought it was a stinker). What on earth is he doing? It's a performance akin to Shrek on Prozac.
The crowning glory for me was the breakdance (or whatever it was called). That was the lamest thing I've seen in years.
Every Tim Burton movie is now receiving the same treatment... the contorted Burton trees, the Burton misty atmosphere, the curly metalwork, the offbeat one-liner asides... I think he should go and make a conventional love story or a hard thriller and get back to basics. I'm completely fed up with this 'look' that pervades everything he makes.
Alice In Wonderland is a well known and well loved English masterpiece, written by a nineteenth century Tim Burton who created an original (yes, original) world, not based on any other. And originality is the problem with this film, there simply isn't any.
The plot is hard to follow. The acting is at best mediocre (apart from Tim's wife, who is good fun) and the direction just relies on the visuals. The CGI is totally over the top and the 3D element just isn't worth it.
The whole thing is a boring mess. I fell asleep twice and had to be woken by my wife... honestly.
I wouldn't bother if I were you. 2/10