Decent but for a real treat noting beats the original's sweetness..

Rating: 6/10 (17 July 2005)

I respect Burton's attempt at re-shaping a classic. As re-makes go, it was alright but as a movie by itself, it lacked luster. Nothing was very memorable and Depp came off as a creepy, Micheal Jackson-like character who's weird ways in no way reflect the genius Wonka supposedly has. The Oompa Loompas (or the one guy playing all of them) were very forgettable, and made me long for the rhythmic rhyming of the 70's Loompas. The little comedy that Burton is famous for throwing into his films wasn't very apparent in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and so dumbed down, the moments often went unnoticed. Overall, the film was basically trying to modernize an already great movie for the sake of dollars, banking on Depp's abilities, which unfortunately couldn't bring this rather boring copycat to it's full potential . Gene Wilder hopefully realizes he has nothing to worry about over his title as the one and only Willy Wonka.