Austin Movie Show review

Rating: 5/10 (23 July 2005)

This is definitely the most "interesting looking" movie of the summer. The production design will blow your mindbut nothing else will. Tim Burton is a genius at creating timeless, magical, mystical, and absurd realities (like he did in Edward Scissorhands and the first two Batman movies), and his interpretation of the famous chocolate factory is other-worldly. But besides great visuals, there's not a whole lot more to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Even Johnny Depp, as the Great Willy Wonka himself, was pretty forgettable. The greatest performance, hands down, was that of Freddie Highmore who played Charlie Bucket. He has such natural talent, but unfortunately he didn't have much of a script to work with  no one did. Also disappointing were the Oompa Loompas (all played by a single actor, Deep Roy). I liked the idea of their almost Amazonian / tribal background, but their songs were ridiculous and musically bad. A forgettable remake.