Alice in Wonderland: Opening Week Buzz

This Friday, March 5th, Tim Burton's much anticipated Alice in Wonderland opens in theatres across the U.S. The movie has already premiered in Australia and the U.K., both to which have given the movie opposite reviews from each other. The popular film ratings website, IGN Australia has given the movie four out of five stars, while IGN UK has given only two stars to the movie.

Here is a small sample of a review about the film, written by Chris Tilly with IGN UK: "The result is an almighty disappointment that fails to capture the magic of Lewis Carroll's tome, but at the same time never truly feels like a 'Tim Burton' film. Suffering from a severe deficiency of wonder, this Alice is by turns loud, lifeless and lacklustre, and so what should have been the perfect marriage of moviemaker and material instead does justice to neither."

Now, to the contrary, here is a sample from a review by Patrick Kolan with IGN Australia: "Allow your fears to be alleviated – those concerned about Tim Burton's increasingly indulgent direction can ease back into their seats; Alice in Wonderland does not fall to the same pretension of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It's not a vanity project or a hollow reboot. Alice in Wonderland is a lovingly filmed and meticulously crafted interpretation of Lewis Carroll's treasured tale, rife with fantasy, coated in gothic iconography and presented by a superb cast who nail their characters' portraits utterly."

After such early mixed reviews from the two countries able to see this movie before the U.S., one may be hesitant about whether or not to see this movie. However, my instinct tells me it will be worth seeing. The Australian reviews says the exact thing most of us were probably worried about: "Alice in Wonderland does not fall to the same pretension of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Meaning, Tim Burton has a certain style in his movies, especially with Johnny Depp, and it gets old and tiresome--as one would see in Charlie in the Chocolate Factory. My advice would be to not get caught up with foreign reviews and to really pay attention to the U.S. reviews that will be available on Friday. There's no doubt this movie will make money and people will go see it. It's just a matter of the quality of this movie that will send movie go-ers back for a second or third time.


What do you think? Will you see the movie?