alice through the looking glass film review

Whether as director on Flight Of The Conchords or on his two big-screen Muppet reboots ( The Muppets and Muppets Most Wanted), Bobin has demonstrated a cheeky, irreverent comedic sensibility that feels far more modest and charming than Burton’s laboured, outsized shtick.īut Bobin’s small-scale sweetness gets crushed by a film so slavishly indebted to its myriad effects, over-the-top characterisations and tiresomely clever wordplay. Working from a screenplay by Linda Woolverton, who also wrote Wonderland, Bobin initially seems like an appealing alternative to Burton’s reliance on overblown spectacle and wincingly quirky humour. Alice takes it upon herself to travel back in time to discover what happened to the Mad Hatter’s clan, stealing a time machine from Time himself (Sacha Baron Cohen).

Unfortunately, she cannot focus on this crisis once she’s summoned back to Underland, where her dear friend the Mad Hatter (Depp) has sunk into a deep depression, convinced his family (whom he thought had died long ago) is actually still alive. Set a few years after Wonderland, Looking Glass finds the once-impressionable young Alice (Wasikowska) now a confident, independent ship’s captain who returns to London only to learn that her family may lose their beloved home. But will viewers be as excited six years later? And will Depp’s sagging box-office potency erode enthusiasm? Opening in a far more crowded marketplace than Wonderland faced, Looking Glass should still do solid business with families, but word-of-mouth could keep this follow-up from matching the previous film’s commercial heights.

Alice In Wonderland grossed a billion dollars, thanks in part to it being the first major 3D release after the breakthrough smash Avatar. Instead of curiouser and curiouser, this sequel gets shriller and shriller.ĭisney will be releasing Looking Glass across much of the globe by May 27, and what will be intriguing to monitor is whether audiences devour this sequel as they did the original.

This fantastical film never takes flight. In the six years since the first Alice, Mia Wasikowska has developed into a far more poised actress, but once again she’s overshadowed by Johnny Depp’s aggressively cutesy portrayal as the Mad Hatter. Tim Burton, who directed Alice In Wonderland, has handed over the reins to Muppets filmmaker James Bobin for this sequel, but what should be magical instead feels manufactured, the wonder of Lewis Carroll’s tales replaced by elaborate set pieces and predictably lavish costume design. A parade of gaudy CGI and strained whimsy, Alice Through The Looking Glass proves even more manic and grating than its 2010 predecessor.

Alice through the looking glass film review