Pure, undemanding, trippy wonderment.

Rating: 6/10 (4 March 2010)

On its release last year I couldn't find much to fault Avatar on. But after watching Alice – the first serious CGI-dominated 3D film since James Cameron's immersive motion picture – there's now a glaring issue with it: the bar was set waaay too high. Previously the computer generated effects in Alice would have knocked your socks off, however in a post-Avatar world it significantly underwhelms. Not an overly fair statement for a film which has consistently beautiful and detailed images – take the awe-inspiring climactic clash which is set on a chess board-esquire battlefield for example – but you can thank Cameron for that. Once you get past the fact that Burton's creation does not aim to achieve realistic environments or creatures and that the actors will never appear to be anywhere other than in front of a green screen, you are in good stead to enjoy the colourful animation for what it was intended for: pure, undemanding, trippy wonderment.
It's a damn shame then that this meticulously crafted, psychedelic visual-journey isn't matched with a screenplay that was given just as much effort. The inbuilt metaphors of the Alice tale are still there however writer Linda Woolverton adds very little in the way of character development or plot undercurrents, seemingly intent on relying on the visual effects wizards and actors to contribute the extra layers. Her biggest missed opportunity is further exploration into the Mad Hatter or even the White Queen – both of whom are half-baked caricatures – with the Hatter coming off as a mere chance for Depp to be quirky, rather than the cleverly-written character with an interesting back story that he should have been. To Woolverton's credit though, she did manage to concoct some deliriously amusing dialogue for the Hatter and the Red Queen; a small highlight of her script which partially redeems her lack-lustre attempts elsewhere.
Kudos to Depp, then, that he still generates another memorable, albeit this time one-dimensional, on screen persona. He provides his Hatter with plenty of lovable eccentricities and rough edges, all the more noteworthy considering the non-existent depth to which the material affords him. He'll certainly be a hit with the kids. The rest of the cast are unpredictable in their output: Aussie newcomer Wasikowska overdoes it as the titular protagonist, Hathaway's saccharine White Queen grates on the nerves and the opaque Glover is unbearably boring as Stayne; whilst Carter's malevolent Red Queen is a hoot, Lucas induces a laugh or two as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Rickman oozes noble charisma as the Blue Caterpillar and Paul Whitehouse's March Hare steals every single scene he is in.
Depp's usual strong performance and Burton's knack for striking visuals narrowly prevail over a shallow script and an unconvincing leading lady.
3 out of 5 (1 - Rubbish, 2 - Ordinary, 3 - Good, 4 - Excellent, 5 - Classic)