A Visual Treat, but Lacking the Same Charm of the Original

Rating: 6/10 (2 January 2016)

The story of Charlie Bucket and his golden ticket to Willy Wonka's wondrous chocolate factory has always been one of my favorites! The original children's book by Roald Dahl and classic film adaptation starring Gene Wilder are both incredibly charming, funny, and entertaining tellings of this story. But, this newer, Tim Burton-Johnny Depp version really lacks some of the wonder, charm, heart, and excitement of those two original versions. Sure, there's bits of these elements throughout, but they aren't handled nearly as well or used nearly as much in this version.
However, the film does deserve quite a bit of credit for being an incredible visual feast, much more so than the original Gene Wilder version. This is, of course, to be expected in a Tim Burton film. No matter how GOOD the actual movie is, Burton always manages to make the visuals at least look pretty cool, so I have to give the movie credit for that. There's also plenty of funny moments here and there and the film is, overall, pretty entertaining. even in Depp isn't nearly as good of a Willy Wonka as Gene Wilder was.