an epic achievement in mediocre film-making

Rating: 3/10 (3 April 2006)

Anyone who has followed Tim Burton's career should be able to see this movie as what it is: the half-assed product of a director well past his prime attempting to recreate and collect pieces of his former films (most notably Edward Scissorhands and Pee-Wee). Throwing shallow rehashes of previous cinematic glories at a strip of celluloid is no way to make a film, but it is a good way to trick a lot of people into thinking they're seeing something of substance (or, dare i say, "genius"). The lack of cohesion is only surpassed by the awkward acting of the father and son leads.
What's most offensive about this film is the heart and sincerity that it tries so hard to put across to the audience through the story, when none of those passions seemed to be present in the people who actually made this epic piece of mediocrity. Tim Burton long ago forgot how to make a good film. His projects of the past ten or fifteen years have felt more and more like the products of a detached assembly line. it's sad that this former, unique visionary in mainstream cinema finally allowed his art to be wholly corrupted by Hollywood and settled on making filmic equivalents to Disney World rides.