Burton at his muddled worst

Rating: 2/10 (3 April 2004)

This movie is an unsalvageable wreck. The acting is wretched with apologies to Bonham Carter and Cotillard who do not belong within a hundred and fifty miles. Burton seems confused as to which of the 4 or 5 different movies he wanted to make. None of them is fully realized. There is the sappy fun-for-the-whole-family melodrama that has infected his recent work. There is the 'trademark' weirdness that he has failed to develop significantly since Scissorhands. It just seems recycled and out of place here (Burton himself absolutely pillages Peewee's Big Adventure, which by the way, is a far superior film). There is a contrived story between father and son which leaves me with the impression that Burton not only never had a father but has never seen a father and a son interact in the same room. And there are at least three moments, horribly short, where one sees what the film could have been. That is the most infuriating part. The most disappointing film I've seen this year. 2/10 stars