Having gotten rave reviews in the mainstream media, and based on my friends recommendations, I decided to watch Alice in Wonderland. However, I must say that my general impression after having watched the movie, which is directed by Tim Burton, falls some way off my expectations.
To begin with, I would say that there is nothing wrong with the movie. There are no flaws to the storyline, there are pretty decent cinematography and film effects, and also they’ve got the right people to bring alive the characters in the movie. But that’s just about where it stops. Nothing great; nothing particularly special about the movie.
This feature film, which is adapted from Lewis Caroll’s similarly titled novel, aroused much fanfare due to its release in 3-D trim. Believe it or not, I hadn’t watched any movie in 3-D before, so I was looking to make this the first movie that I watched in 3-D.
Speaking of the 3-D experience, there is nothing much to shout about. The glasses for one made me feel very uncomfortable since I already have a pair of spectacles. Therefore, I literally had six eyes for the duration of the movie!
The story begins with Alice having to meet with a perspective candidate for marriage, and he proposes her. Alice isn’t quite open to this idea though. Then, Alice sees a rabbit that is intent on leading her somewhere. Curious, she follows the rabbit and so, down they go a rabbit hole and end up in Wonderland, which is inhabitated by all sorts of peculiar creatures.
The main characters in the film, besides Alice (Mia Wasikowska) of course, are The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and the White Queen (Anne Hathaway). The performance of Alice is palpable on screen, while The Mad Hatter and Red Queen are standouts from my point of view. I am a little disappointed with the White Queen though.
Although Depp’s portrayal of The Mad Hatter seems clichéd as some of his actions are reminiscent of his trademark acting in the Pirates films, especially the way he walks, but they still make for great entertainment. The Red Queen on the other hand is very much glum, like the way she shouts her head off, and this spices things up!
What’s the climax of the movie, you must be wondering? It’s the battle between the Red Queen (supposedly bad) and the White Queen (supposedly good) for control over Wonderland. I’d not give too much away, but I am sure you can already picture the ending.
The easy going and light-hearted nature of this movie makes it for a good family outing. I’m sure watching the movie in normal mode would be more than enough, but if you fancy something different, then 3-D it is. As I had said earlier, there’s nothing bad about this movie, and nothing great either. But it's worthwhile enough to spend two hours of your free time though.
The Verdict
6/10
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