Burton makes Alice in Wonderland and it's better than you'd initially think

Rating: 7/10 (12 January 2018)

Firstly, I'm no Lewis Caroll fanboy nor a connoisseur in any quality of the original novel so this review contains nothing in relation to whether the film was true to the book and what not, it's a movie review purely about the movie: Alice in Wonderland (2010) directed by Tim Burton and starring Mia Wasikowska whom since they've been brought up both do a very efficient job in my opinion for their respective tasks: Alice is strong-willed, has lots of presence and character and that's precisely what her role is about: a free-thinker in a world of formatted prudes who's not afraid to let her imagination and peculiar personality thrive. I also think that young Australian actress fit the character physically as she was not only pleasant to look at but conveyed that strong will while not being boorish either, just that fine line: a feminine tomboy with the slightness and freshness of a young girl.
And now about Burton: he does well to recycle the Alice story and keep it exciting and bring enough elements to it that it's something new to look at, rather than just being another Burton or just another Alice iteration.
The film is structured and paced just right running in at the standard 1 hour 45min. Each scene is memorable and distinct visually, the dialog very good and punchy, often funny, and it never lets itself become self-indulgent. All the secondary characters and sprites are very well crafted - Johnny Deep as the Mad Hatter, those two plump boys, the Jabberwocky (voiced by Christopher Lee as an easter egg), both Queens are fantastic (and hilarious in their own way: Anne Hathaway and her deliberately annoying princess-like mannerisms holding out her hands like a fairy and coming close to throwing up a few times - and Bonham Carter's anger tantrums and ridiculous head), the Cheshire Cat... the tiny frog subjects of the queen and their deep voices...
Stylistically the film is quite awesome: from the very cool design for the card soldiers, to generally the sometimes barren sometimes hyper-colorful and rich dreamy landscapes with that thick hard contrast filter throughout, to the way they depicted for instance the phonies with their caricatured overly large features...
All in all, a job very well done. Obviously however one looks at it, it's still mostly crafted on an original story and inspired by a few earlier versions.
7.5/10.