Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Movie Review - Alice In Wonderland

Movie Title
Alice In Wonderland
Year
2010
Genre
Fantasy, Adventure Story
If you were expecting this to be a typical Alice in Wonderland story that stays close to the books and perhaps the Disney animated film, you might be disappointed. This film, despite having most of the characters from the original, has deviated a lot from the original plot. However, it couldn't have been better. 19-year-old Alice returns to the whimsical world she first encountered as a young girl, reuniting with her childhood friends: the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Dormouse, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, and of course, the Mad Hatter. Alice embarks on a fantastical journey to find her true destiny and end the Red Queen's reign of terror. Acting
Johnny Depp was simply great as the Mad Hatter. He played his role extremely well and displayed a lot of emotion through his character and made it such a likeable one. Newcomer Mia Wasikowska made a very good Alice too, displaying curiosity in a new world at a level we all can connect with. Anne Hathaway played the sweet, good White Queen and fitted perfectly into that role. But the best of all is Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen. Her bad temper, constant yelling and demands for heads to be chopped off gets really annoying but I guess that makes it more effective. We see her as a heartless, selfish and impatient queen who wants everything her own way and has a 'bloody' big head too. I can't imagine anyone else playing the role. Most of the other characters are CGI so there isn't much to say but the characters are adorable! Like the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit; Tweedledee and Tweedledum.Watch it for yourself and you'll see what I mean.
Overall
I entered the cinema not knowing what to expect. I remember reading the storybooks when I was young but the only thing I could remember about the story was the Red Queen, the card soldiers, the hare and the Tweedle brothers. Wonderland, in the movie was Underland instead. And it seemed to be a gloomy, dark and gothic place. In less than 2 hours, the plot develops rather smoothly and is really simple to understand. I heard comments on how draggy it was but that wasn't how I saw it. It's definitely worth watching. I watched it in 2D and it was good enough, maybe 3D would be better. Tim Burton has once again produced another awesome film despite the critics' reviews. Graphics wise, plot wise, characters and even the music would keep viewers entertained. I wouldn't mind watching it again.. and again.
Rating:8/10
Guest Reviewer: Serene Chua
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Alice in Wonderland [Blu-ray]

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