MOVIE REVIEW: Alice Through the Looking Glass

Disney bring us the follow up to the successful adaptation of Lewis Carrolls Alice in Wonderland.Â The cast have mostly returned and there was a twinge of sadness for me as I heard Alan Rickman’s voice for probably the last time.

It’s years since Alice has had her adventures in Wonderland and now back in our reality she has taken to the seas to Captain her Fathers ship on a dangerous voyage to the East.Â On her return she learns that everything has changed, her patron has died and his Son, her Ex, is now married and in charge.Â He’s also determined to have her taken from the bridge of the ship to be a clerk in his company.Â Alice’s Mom pleads with her to accept the normal life that a lady during 1875 should be living.Â At this point Alice, heartbroken that her dreams of adventure and exploration may be over, is drawn back to Wonderland.

When she arrives her old friend the Hatter has lost his will to live.Â The new adventure in Wonderland will take Alice through time to save her friend.Â She must steal something from Time himself and an old adversary has plans to change time herself.

I’ll admit that I haven’t seen the 2010 film, I had and still am a little out of love with Mr. Depp and Mr. Burton.Â It’s a personal choice and back then I was not reviewing so I still haven’t seen this film and have no plans to see it.Â I know the books, I know the stories, and I love those.Â I’ve also seen Once Upon a Time and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland which gives you more than enough of the universe.

So is Through the Looking Glass worth seeing and where?Â It is worth seeing in a cinema and seeing in general.Â Don’t forget that a three out of five is the average score of most films these days and shouldn’t be seen as a slight against the film itself.Â I don’t know what the major problem I have with the film is it’s just that there is something wrong that I can’t quite place my finger on.Â It’s visually stunning though, seeing it on IMAX means there is a 100% assault on the senses.Â You’re drawn into the film from the opening until the final credits, and even the credits are worth sticking around for.Â Get to see this in as big as screen as you can, it’s worth the extra cash.

While Tim Burton is not behind the camera his fingerprints are still all over the film.Â The travelling through time aspect of the story offers an insight to the characters that we’ve rarely seen before.Â The new character of Time joins the cast and Sacha Baron Cohen doing a very strange Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation.Â His character offers Hatter a run for his money as regards the off beat character but is under used.Â The returning cast all offer something different.Â One of the biggest problems that I know I have with this film is Anne Hathaway, for some reason, and I don’t know why, but I was screaming ‘STOP IT!’ in my head, acts like Snow White in the original Disney animation.Â It’s just pointless characterisation and she’s better than that.Â The CGI, soundtrack, and all production values are amazingly high, which you’d expect from a Disney adventure.

So, will I watch the 2010 film? No, probably not, if it’s on TV and there is nothing else on then maybe, I won’t go out of my way to see it.Â Would I go back to see this again? Probably not, I’m happy that I’ve seen it, it is a sight to behold.Â There is just some unknown to me reason that I had a problem with the story.Â Maybe it’s the way that they handle the time travel, maybe it’s just the fantastic cast in pointless roles, I just don’t know.Â When you watch a film and you say ‘I love that’ or ‘I hate that’ then at least you know how you feel about the film.Â So I guess my biggest problem here is that I don’t honestly know how I feel, which is terrible.Â Great to look at but leaving me scratching my head as to why I don’t want to see it again.

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