Alice (Mia Wasikowska), now a buccaneering ship captain, is summoned by Absolem (voiced by the late Alan Rickman, RIP Professor Snape) back to the whimsical world of Wonderland to cheer up the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) who is apparently dying from a broken heart since none of his friends believe that his presumably dead family might still be alive. With the Hatter being her "truest friend", Alice decides to agree with the White Queen's (Anne Hathaway) "unpossible" plan to go back in time to the day the Jabberwocky attacked to save Hatter's family from being killed. Doing this requires Alice to borrow (or steal if the former does not work) the Chronosphere, a gold orb that is in the possession of Time (Sacha Baron Cohen), the human clock of Wonderland. The said orb transforms into a vehicle that will allow Alice to traverse the oceans of time. Not heeding Time's warning that, "You can't change your past, but you can only learn from it," Alice will soon realize that her rash actions impose danger to the existence of Wonderland.
When a sequel uses time-travel as its gimmick, one can get the impression that a franchise may be starting to run out of ideas. What's disappointing is that given the wealth of possibilities in Caroll's work, screenwriter Linda Woolverton chooses an antiquated trick that is best left to Back to the Future. I may have only read plot summaries of Caroll's work but that is enough for me to learn that this film is just loosely based on its source material. The only same thing that both happened in the film and the novel is that Alice slips through the liquid surface of a looking glass. Furthermore, it is rather odd to name the film after an object that plays such a small role in the film. For example, Harry Potter films don't end up being titled with, "Harry Potter through the Brick Wall." See how odd it could be? Anyway, believe it or not, this sequel has more structure than the last one. Saving the Hatter's family is clearly the MacGuffin of the story, but what the script asks Alice to do is to be basically a tour guide to the origin stories of the White Queen, the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and the Mad Hatter. It is more disappointing once you learn that the root of all evil involves a stolen strawberry tart to which the film comes up with a rushed resolution in favor of scenes that add little value to the story. I'm referring to that episode of Alice in the asylum that should be best left in the cutting floor.
If there's anything to be excited for with this film it's that Alice Though the Looking Glass is filled to the brim with Wonderland characters both old and new, from the Cheshire Cat to Humpty Dumpy. Depp, as the Mad Hatter, ceased to be a human being in his films a long time ago, especially here because you barely recognize the actor due to the heavy make-up. And, I'm not exactly sure if that's a compliment. He can't seem to get away from this type of façade to the point that his acting becomes somewhat artificial and calculated. However, as the story forces the Hatter to be sad for most parts of the film, he actually becomes more bearable when subdued. Hathaway, with her matching jazzy fingers, puts on a delicate performance that she almost fades in the background and Bonham Carter's shrieking voice of insanity is a welcome repeat. Sacha Baron Cohen as Time, who happens to have an inscrutable thick German accent, is amusing. Despite being marketed as the villain of this sequel, he is actually more of the good guy here than Alice who is messing with the timelines. Alice, however, has a disappointing characterization. She proves to be an intelligent and a strong leader in the real world but when she gets back to Wonderland, she makes a lot of hasty decisions. Wasikowska is a wonderful actress but sometimes she acts too patronizing as if she's talking to an infant during the entire film.
Much like its predecessor, this film has a lot of visual feasts to offer: lavish and intricate costumes, expensive production sets, dazzling cinematography, etc. However not even sensory overload and the script's occasional fancy wordplay can compensate for an underwhelming story. It attempts to flesh out some messages on loss and acceptance but my emotional engagement stays behind the glass for me to fully grasp it. Watching Alice Through the Looking Glass is like attending a fancy tea party wherein fact you are expecting for a heavy sumptuous lunch – it is far from being a terrible sequel, however, it is by no means a good Disney classic.
Full review: http://www.filmpolicereviews.com/reviews/alice-looking-glass
When a sequel uses time-travel as its gimmick, one can get the impression that a franchise may be starting to run out of ideas. What's disappointing is that given the wealth of possibilities in Caroll's work, screenwriter Linda Woolverton chooses an antiquated trick that is best left to Back to the Future. I may have only read plot summaries of Caroll's work but that is enough for me to learn that this film is just loosely based on its source material. The only same thing that both happened in the film and the novel is that Alice slips through the liquid surface of a looking glass. Furthermore, it is rather odd to name the film after an object that plays such a small role in the film. For example, Harry Potter films don't end up being titled with, "Harry Potter through the Brick Wall." See how odd it could be? Anyway, believe it or not, this sequel has more structure than the last one. Saving the Hatter's family is clearly the MacGuffin of the story, but what the script asks Alice to do is to be basically a tour guide to the origin stories of the White Queen, the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and the Mad Hatter. It is more disappointing once you learn that the root of all evil involves a stolen strawberry tart to which the film comes up with a rushed resolution in favor of scenes that add little value to the story. I'm referring to that episode of Alice in the asylum that should be best left in the cutting floor.
If there's anything to be excited for with this film it's that Alice Though the Looking Glass is filled to the brim with Wonderland characters both old and new, from the Cheshire Cat to Humpty Dumpy. Depp, as the Mad Hatter, ceased to be a human being in his films a long time ago, especially here because you barely recognize the actor due to the heavy make-up. And, I'm not exactly sure if that's a compliment. He can't seem to get away from this type of façade to the point that his acting becomes somewhat artificial and calculated. However, as the story forces the Hatter to be sad for most parts of the film, he actually becomes more bearable when subdued. Hathaway, with her matching jazzy fingers, puts on a delicate performance that she almost fades in the background and Bonham Carter's shrieking voice of insanity is a welcome repeat. Sacha Baron Cohen as Time, who happens to have an inscrutable thick German accent, is amusing. Despite being marketed as the villain of this sequel, he is actually more of the good guy here than Alice who is messing with the timelines. Alice, however, has a disappointing characterization. She proves to be an intelligent and a strong leader in the real world but when she gets back to Wonderland, she makes a lot of hasty decisions. Wasikowska is a wonderful actress but sometimes she acts too patronizing as if she's talking to an infant during the entire film.
Much like its predecessor, this film has a lot of visual feasts to offer: lavish and intricate costumes, expensive production sets, dazzling cinematography, etc. However not even sensory overload and the script's occasional fancy wordplay can compensate for an underwhelming story. It attempts to flesh out some messages on loss and acceptance but my emotional engagement stays behind the glass for me to fully grasp it. Watching Alice Through the Looking Glass is like attending a fancy tea party wherein fact you are expecting for a heavy sumptuous lunch – it is far from being a terrible sequel, however, it is by no means a good Disney classic.
Full review: http://www.filmpolicereviews.com/reviews/alice-looking-glass