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I enjoyed it, but that's about all.
I've been dreading this movie for a year now. Burton can be very hit or miss. And the trailers looked terrible, the plot sounded even worse, and I didn't even think it was possible to make Helena Bonham Carter ugly. Of course I had to go to the midnight premiere on Thursday anyways. My favorite book, my favorite director, my favorite actress, and my favorite actor? I was obligated to see it. So I've spent that last month trying to lower my expectations. And it worked!
I completely disassociated it with Alice in Wonderland and I rather liked it. You just can't go in expecting AiW, because you won't get it. But as long as you're just viewing it as another random Burton film, it's really quite good! Not a masterpiece of cinema, but certainly enjoyable.
The action scenes seemed very forced and awkward. Burton has never been good at action sequences and frankly, they just don't belong in an Alice based story.
The actors definitely delivered though! Bonham Carter was the best! She gave a fantastic performance as the red queen. Even her creepy, inflated head, didn't distract from her great acting! Depp was terrific as the hatter. But it's not the hatter we know. Depp's hatter was much more human. Much less.... Mad. The real hatter is not a mad person, but the personification of madness. Depp's hatter was a sweet, child-like, madman. In the words of the New York Times, "Depp's Mad Hatter is simply the perfect babysitter for a lonely child." They pretty much hit the nail on the head with that. I wanted to take him home, tell him all my secrets over a cup of hot tea, and hug him every time I get lonesome. He's remarkably endearing. Speaking of remarkable, Mia Wasikowska. She was a wonderful Alice. She really added something to the character, while still retaining Alice's true character. She's the one thing about this movie that's truly AiW. She is the original Alice. I loved her!
One performance that did disappoint was Rickman's. I was so excited to see Alan Rickman's Caterpillar! The casting couldn't have been better! The direction could have, unfortunately. I don't think it was Rickman's fault. Because instead of getting the "Whoooooo... aaare yooooouuuu?" that I'd been able to hear so clearly in my head, I got "Whoo are yoou?". I couldn't get over how fast he was talking! It completely took away from his performance and the character.
One thing there could have been more of is cat. Depp's Hatter was basically playing his role and the Cheshire Cat's. My darling Cheshire was hardly in it! But he still managed to be the best character of the film. xd
Final verdict? Go see it! But don't expect great things, or you'll be sorely disappointed. 3nodding