Alice Through the Looking Glass

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I know I’m in a minority, but I actually enjoyed Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. It wasn’t perfect, but I thought it was decent enough. Even though Tim Burton didn’t direct this sequel, I was still kind of curious to see what this movie had to offer. This time around, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) has spent the last couple years travelling the world. She returns to London to discover that her ex-fiancée has taken over her father’s company, and has bought her family house. While a party for the man, she comes across the caterpillar Absolem (voiced by Alan Rickman in his final film role), and ultimately chases after him, returning to “Wonderland.” Her friends then task her with trying to save The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp). She must contend with the humanized version of Time (Sacha Baron Cohen) and the returning Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter). So, I think it will be easier to start with the negatives I have with the movie. The story is a bit of a mess. There feels like way too much going on, even more so than in the first movie. A good portion of the movie deals with the relationship between Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter, and how their relationship went south. But, when you actually see what the reason is, it just doesn’t feel all that important. The wide-angle shots feel too much, too often. Most of the time, I feel like my personal space is being violated. The acting is kind of hard to quantify. For example, Mia Wasikowska kind of walks this thin line between being good and being bad in her performance this time around. Meanwhile, returning performers like Anne Hathaway, Johnny Depp, and Helena Bonham Carter do the same thing they did previously, only not as good. Newcomer Sacha Baron Cohen tries his usual schtick, and it just doesn’t work. The movie isn’t a total loss, however. The one actor I actually do want to compliment in this movie is Andrew Scott. In his brief performance, he goes suitably over the top. The movie also looks great. The visual effects are top notch, and the sets bring up the perfect amount of both weird and gorgeous. In the end, Alice Through the Looking Glass suffers from all–around messy execution. I did actually end up enjoying the movie, despite its numerous flaws, even if I think there was a much better movie in here somewhere.

6 / 10