3 stars. Rated PG, for fantasy peril
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 5.27.16
This film conclusively
demonstrates that it’s extremely difficult — if not impossible — to replicate
Tim Burton’s signature brand of whimsy.
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| Mere moments after having traveled through the looking-glass, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) clumsily triggers a crisis that "all the king's horses, and all the king's men" will have to repair. Which is par for the course, for this film's dim-bulb Alice. |
It’s not merely a matter of
Burton’s directorial finesse; he’s also a shrewd judge of source material, and
how it should be shaped. Either he carefully selects equally talented
screenwriters, or he’s actively involved in how a script reaches its final
draft; either way, the result — time and again — is weirdly droll, oddly
endearing and invariably, if improbably, entertaining.
And — here’s the important part —
meticulously structured, and consistent within its own fantasy universe.
None of which can be said about Alice Through the Looking Glass. Linda
Woolverton’s script is a mess; her slapdash plot begs, borrows and steals from
sources as varied as H.G. Wells, Frozen
and the Back to the Future trilogy.
James Bobin’s direction is
uninspired and lifeless. Somebody apparently thought he’d be right for the job,
on the basis of his having helmed the two most recent Muppets movies. At the risk of stating the obvious, human
characters need more directorial guidance than Muppets, who get most of their
personality from their unseen “muppeteers.” Alice (Mia Wasikowska) and her
various co-stars get very little guidance here.
Granted, this sequel to Burton’s Alice in Wonderland looks equally
fabulous. Dan Hennah’s production design is opulent, imaginative and richly
colorful: no surprise, as he’s a veteran of all three Hobbit chapters. Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood is a
carryover from the first Alice, and
her efforts here are equally creative, often amusing and sometimes flat-out
beautiful; Alice’s kimono-style outfit is particularly fetching.
And, yes, the special effects are
excellent, if overused ... and that’s part of the problem. As just one example,
Bobin wastes an awful lot of screen footage with repeated sequences of Alice
sailing through the “oceans of time,” and repetition does not make such
journeys more interesting. Quite the opposite.
