ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS – Review

ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS hits theaters today, but it’s not quite the Through The Looking-Glass tale that you grew up with.

In the sequel to ALICE IN WONDERLAND, we find Alice (Mia Wasikowska) being summoned back to Underland to travel back in time and save the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) and his family. As the Hatter begins to change, Alice realizes that she must steal the Chronosphere from Time himself (Sacha Baron Cohen). By her side is the Mirana (Anne Hathaway), as well as some of her other Underland friends. Of course, things aren’t always what they seem in Underland, and Alice discovers some new secrets about Mirana and her sister Iracebeth (Helena Bonham Carter) that changes things a bit…

ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS has very little to do with the Lewis Carroll story of a similar name, other than Alice travels back to Underland through a mirror. Instead, the film takes the direction of being more of an origin story revolving primarily around the Hatter, as well as the relationship between the royal sisters. As a Carroll fan, the title of the film actually kind of bugs me.

The characters are great, for the most part. Most surprising to me was Sacha Baron Cohen. I have to admit that I went in with low hopes, but I really enjoyed his performance. Of course, Depp and Wasikowska are incredible together. I found myself annoyed with the adult versions of the royal sisters. For most of the movie, I found myself liking the Red Queen less and less. Its not that the performance was bad, it was just so extreme!

While I enjoyed the film, I must say that I could tell that Tim Burton was not the director. This time, James Bobin took the reigns (THE MUPPETS, MUPPETS MOST WANTED) and it was a bit visible. While the world was beautiful to look at, and I found the story to be entertaining enough, there were a lot  of weird inconsistencies, especially with the make-up. Now, I’m not talking about when the Hatter looses his Muchness, or changes emotions. I’m talking about between close up shots. The white lines under his eyes would change thickness and length. I don’t know if they meant to do this, but it drove me bonkers while watching it. I also thought that Hathaway’s makeup looked sloppy. Her lipstick smear was just a little more exaggerated than what I recall from the last film, and I didn’t care for it. Plus, it seemed like Bobin took the look of Burton’s first film and mixed it with an episode of Hoarders.

I’d say to go into it with an open mind. You’ll be sure to enjoy the views. If you’re a true Carroll fan, this might annoy you.

Overall rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS opens in theaters everywhere on May 27th!