I took my family to see Alice Through the Looking Glass because we all enjoyed the first film. Despite hearing negative reviews about the film I went in hoping I would enjoy it. My family loved it, but I found it rather dull and lacking the fun I found in the first film. Sadly, I give Alice Through the Looking Glass the rating of Not a Total Waste of Time.
Alice Through the Looking Glass is a weak reflection of the original.
Alice Kingsleigh has been on the sea in her father’s boat Wonder and is returning home for the first time in years. She arrives to find that things have changed and her former suitor has married and is trying to take her boat away from her. Alice is summoned back to Underland to help save the Hatter, but she’ll have to battle Time himself in order to do it.
Tim Burton directed the first film, but was only listed as a producer for this one. James Bobin takes the role of director in this film and manages to keep Burton’s art style present in the film. However, the wonderment of the first film is missing in Alice Through the Looking Glass.
While Mia Wasikowska plays Alice in ultimately the same way, the film felt flat and the plot a little pointless. Even bringing back Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen made the film feel familiar, but not in a good way. Johnny Depp’s Hatter, who I enjoyed in the first film, was pretty awful. He’s different via the plot, but even later he feels like a worse version of the original. They offered some backstory on his character and didn’t bother to mention why he’s so different.
There is a lot here for people who enjoyed the first film to attach to, but I found it kind of tiresome. Sacha Baron Cohen plays Time and I’m finding that I don’t like him as much as I use to. His comedic elements were often a bit much, but he did manage to make me laugh a couple of times. I found myself rolling my eyes more at the attempts of humor in the film then not. The message is extremely spelled out at the end of the film, and, while it is a positive one, really makes this feel like a creepy children’s movie.
I wanted to enjoy this film, but it didn’t work for me. The plot felt weakly written and just a way to try and get a little bit of money. Alice Through the Looking Glass could have been a better experience at the movies.
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