Disappointing.

Rating: 2/10 (17 July 2005)

When a movie is based on a novel, it should be able to depict an unexpected visualization of the novel in order to be fresh to the audience. This movie FAILS to do so.
Everything in the movie was so obvious and unoriginal. There could be so much more fascinating things and events that they could have created inside the factory, but they didn't. Everything looked just like how they were described in the book, which really bored me to death throughout the movie.
The actors in this movie were quite pathetic. Johnny Depp was the only one that HAD a personality. The rest of the characters were just there, and each of them showed one emotion throughout the whole movie. (I'd like to give some examples but I don't wanna give away ) OK, it maybe interesting at the beginning, but after 2 hrs of the movie, you get very tired of their monotonic acting.
I simply do not see what is the real goal or mood of this movie. I don't know if its supposed to be funny or meaningful. It tries to connect with a particular theme, but the movie fails to draw the audience well enough for them to actually connect with it. It also tries to somehow be funny here and there by Johnny Depp's "unique" facial expression, but there was not one time during the movie that I laughed. The "jokes" just seemed forced and were really not funny at all.
So my suggestion is "Don't watch this movie, especially if you have read the book." There really is no point in it. The movie is so predictable that before you even watch the movie, you probably know everything about how the movie will proceed.
*** If you HAVE TO go to the movie theater to watch something though, watch "Wedding Crashers" instead. It is a lot funnier and fresher. =)