RATING: C+
It only took six years, but a sequel to Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland happened. Were people really still interested by this point? That's up for debate, since it didn't even make half the money the first one did. Impressively, despite the long span between the two movies, they got basically *all* the cast of characters to return--even the minor ones that I didn't expect to be in the film at that point.
The plot of this movie isn't quite as cookie-cutter as the first one, but it is somewhat more convoluted as it involves time-travel. It centers around a depressed Mad Hatter who wishes to know what happened to his family, whom he believes are still alive despite being presumably slaughtered by the Jabberwocky. Alice then tries to change the past, only to get caught up in a maddening series of events in the process.
Interestingly enough, the movie does hit some of the usual clichés you'd expect from a time-travel plot--while avoiding others entirely. This ends up being a problem, as we are left with a rather ridiculous ending in which some odd device is able to fix everything (despite that seeming impossible), and somehow everything ends up working out a little too perfectly... even by my standards, as some characters in both Wonderland and the real world end up making unrealistic changes a little too out of the blue.
Despite some of the plot sloppiness, there is still some fun to be had. The visuals and set pieces are still great, and the cast is still awesome (though Johnny Depp feels slightly more subdued this time), with Rhys Ifans added in this one, as well as Sacha Baren Cohen, who delivers a brilliant performance as a physical manifestation of "Time." Despite some of the frustrating time-travel material, his character is possibly the best thing about this movie, as he delivers many self-referential jokes ("Stop wasting myself..." get it?) and many hilarious puns, particularly in a tea party scene. The script is actually probably the best thing about this movie.
Although it's difficult to not be frustrated at times with this movie, the script and its humor help make this an enjoyable pastime of a movie. Although comedy may not have been what this fantasy movie was going for overall, that really is where it succeeds the most. And even if that isn't quite what some are hoping for, it was enough that I didn't feel like I had wasted my time at all when it was over. Though not a lot of people will likely be watching this movie, it should at least be recommended to fans of puns, if no one else besides fans of the first movie (which there aren't a lot of).
The plot of this movie isn't quite as cookie-cutter as the first one, but it is somewhat more convoluted as it involves time-travel. It centers around a depressed Mad Hatter who wishes to know what happened to his family, whom he believes are still alive despite being presumably slaughtered by the Jabberwocky. Alice then tries to change the past, only to get caught up in a maddening series of events in the process.
Interestingly enough, the movie does hit some of the usual clichés you'd expect from a time-travel plot--while avoiding others entirely. This ends up being a problem, as we are left with a rather ridiculous ending in which some odd device is able to fix everything (despite that seeming impossible), and somehow everything ends up working out a little too perfectly... even by my standards, as some characters in both Wonderland and the real world end up making unrealistic changes a little too out of the blue.
Despite some of the plot sloppiness, there is still some fun to be had. The visuals and set pieces are still great, and the cast is still awesome (though Johnny Depp feels slightly more subdued this time), with Rhys Ifans added in this one, as well as Sacha Baren Cohen, who delivers a brilliant performance as a physical manifestation of "Time." Despite some of the frustrating time-travel material, his character is possibly the best thing about this movie, as he delivers many self-referential jokes ("Stop wasting myself..." get it?) and many hilarious puns, particularly in a tea party scene. The script is actually probably the best thing about this movie.
Although it's difficult to not be frustrated at times with this movie, the script and its humor help make this an enjoyable pastime of a movie. Although comedy may not have been what this fantasy movie was going for overall, that really is where it succeeds the most. And even if that isn't quite what some are hoping for, it was enough that I didn't feel like I had wasted my time at all when it was over. Though not a lot of people will likely be watching this movie, it should at least be recommended to fans of puns, if no one else besides fans of the first movie (which there aren't a lot of).
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