:(

Rating: 4/10 (18 March 2010)

So gauging by my summary, being a small unhappy face, you can probably tell I was not a fan of this movie. Sure, before I saw it, I was on-board. Clips and art, it looked so promising. How an hour and a half does change things. I really want to hear from Tim Burton that he is absolutely thrilled with the cut of this film. Because I am not buying it. It wreaks of studio chopping, this film is a pretentious mess. But Disney knows two things: Alice is a marketable brand, and Tim Burton is a marketable man. So, this movie will do well, but its revenue is hardly deserved. This story is not clever, tries to add a sturdy narrative to the story, fails in every regard and destroys the tone of the movie by having the most mind boggling, out of place dance in a movie, PERIOD. That better win an accolade, as it is soo ballsy and uncomfortable, it feels more like it was done on a dare rather than creative vision. The cast is here, with some great performances even, the effects are OK, but we never get to explore Wonderland because Tim's Alice is running all the time. (I should note that I saw the 2D version) But even then, I went in expecting cleverness, and found the script believes we are all idiots. Underland? Ummm no, that was the poorest name correction I've seen in film, and utterly unnecessary. It reads like this: Oh I really like that idea, but I want to put my own spin on it! Lewis Carroll had it all wrong, I should do him the favour of correcting his spelling blunder! ...
This all of course spins on the needle end of a feminist undertone, that while I applaud the notion, is executed horribly. This is Tim's first true failure to me, and even with the intimidating cast he has assembled, it seems fitting the last scene of the movie is on a ship, as the whole production should go down with it. Cruel words? Maybe. But a remake, or sequel should only be attempted should a) the new material add something fresh to the property or b) be necessary to resolve any unturned circumstances in the original. Alice had neither, the original story remains the best. Very disappointed.