Pick a Consistent Tone, TIm!

Rating: 5/10 (11 May 2012)

Tim Burton is a great director. And, with Johnny Depp in the lead role, Tim Burton can make a good movie. Examples of this are "Edwards Scissorhands", "Ed Wood", and "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". It is also my opinion, as well as the majority of people I've talked to, that Tim Burton is at his worst when he re-imagines things. Examples of this are "Planet of the Apes", "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", and "Alice in Wonderland". Factoring this in, I was convinced that "Dark Shadows" was going to be one of the worst movies of the year. Was I right? Eh...I guess?
While I don't think that the movie is terrible, it's no "Sweeney Todd". Let's get all the good in the movie out of the way first: Johnny Depp. Yes, I've yet to see a movie where I didn't enjoy the guy. He commits a lot to his roles, which really shows here. He had me laughing pretty hard. The supporting cast is fine, even if Eva Green does tend to overact a bit in a few scenes. Another plus to the movie is the scenery. Even the bad Tim Burton movies have this going for them. The cinematography and set pieces are grand and full of energy.
I am no fan of the "Dark Shadows" t.v. show; I haven't seen a single episode. Before I saw the film, I saw a lot of uproar about how it tries to cram too many of the main points of the show into an approx. 2 hour movie. And though I've never seen the show, even I could see that the movie felt too bloated and self indulgent.
Another big problem with the film is the tone. It seems to me that Burton was trying to make this one a comedy, and for awhile, I believed him. The jokes hit hard and were funny! But when you mix those scenes with Depp suddenly murdering a bunch of hippies around the campfire, that just clashes with the lighthearted goofiness that Burton is hoping to make with the movie.
Final verdict: I came home and was prepared to give the movie a solid 6 out of 10. Just slightly above average, just because I did have a good time with the flick. But a few hours later, I didn't remember too much of it. The movie is sort of like cinema hypnosis; you are having a pretty good time, but once you've left the theater, the spell is broken and you don't remember jack squat. And that's the movie's biggest crime: it's so forgettable. Even the bad Tim Burton movies I remember; I may not have enjoyed them, but they left some sort of impact on me. And this just didn't. Only the biggest devotes of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp should flock to the theaters for this one...or they should just see "The Avengers" again.