I really, REALLY wanted to like this movie.

Rating: 5/10 (7 March 2010)

With a director like Tim Burton and a cast with some really strong actors, you'd think it be a given that it's be amazing. Sadly, though, this is not the case.
Aside from a wonderful and well put together set (though some things about it I did question i.e. the general haze and dustiness to some of the colors), this movie just fell flat. It was like a modern day Wizard of Oz. Only difference is that when Dorothy stepped into the wonderful dream world of Oz, she was baffled and intrigued. When Alice fell down the rabbit hole with apparently (or so she acted it) no recollection of her adventures as a little girl, she greeted Wonderland with no interest and, at some points, with a bit of hostility.
As far as the characters are concerned, some I was impressed with (the Cheshire Cat,the March Hair, the White Queen) and satisfied with, and other just didn't do it for me. Alice, the Mad Hatter, the caterpillar(saved a little by Alan Rickman) and the Dormouse were so-so, half-assed and overall just a mess. I think whatever Depp was trying to do with the Mad Hatter either only looked good on paper, so to speak, or so subtle it was missed by even the keenest eye. Also, the dance was completely unnecessary.
The dialogue was choppy and was, I think, best described as "clumsy". A lot of it seemed like just filler, tried really hard to be funny AND kid friendly (always a tough thing to do), and was a lot of the time just poorly delivered. I still have no idea why a raven is like a writing desk but after it was asked so many times, I just stopped caring and started getting annoyed. A neat idea for a verbal theme, but it just wasn't charming enough I suppose.
With just enough star power and a familiar title, this movie will probably make bank, and not all of that money will be undeserving. It had it's ups, but the cons just outweighed the pros this time. I think Burton could've made this movie a lot more engaging and personal if he had more free rein over it. It seems like Disney had him on a pretty short leash and he just kind of gave up.
Because I am a die hard Burton and Wonderland fan, I just can't bring myself to just flat out call it a bad movie. I saw it with low expectations and was STILL disappointed. I mean, I really wanted to like this movie. But it just didn't have enough...enough....well, just not enough quite frankly.
You'll get 'em next time, right Tim? P.S. No doorknob? Really?