Looks and feels like childhood again, but too much extra...

Rating: 8/10 (6 March 2010)

Alice brings a sense of Nostalgia to the viewer as they see their childhood favourite character at an older age. I will start by saying that the film looks very good. The characrters are well done and flow well; the cat in particular, well he really is quite good. The backdrops are fun and the characters are well integrated between real and CGI(except for the tea party scene- the windmill looks like a stage backdrop rather than a movie). If nothing else, it is pretty. Not Avatar pretty, but still very good. Now onto the story. I am afraid, it needed some work. I quite enjoyed most of the scenes and liked how the story was aranged. The 'real-world' scenes were quite enjoyable and fun to watch especially. But one scene in particular brings the entire movie down. I am not sure why, but it seems that every writer and their dog must put a dragon into their movie. The entire scene with the dragon and the armor and sword to fight the dragon was no good. The kitchen scene prior involving the armor was though. I know the climactic battle added length to the movie and strength to Alice, but it was boring and the same old same old. NOT timeless at all. But the rest of the movie on the otherhand deserves a first and second and even third viewing, and was well written. She (the writer) did a good job making a new story out of old material, and it will please both seasoned Hatters and little Alices.
If you like drogons and not-so-great of battle sequences, this is a must watch. If you don't, it's still well worth it, but take a bathroom break when they get to the enlarged chess board.