Review: Alice Through the Looking Glass

The Hatter's the matter.

Alice (Mia Wasikowska) has just spent the last three years as a sea captain traveling the world. When she returns home, the man she refused to marry in the first time threatens to take her ship in exchange for her mother's house, and give her a measly desk job. While Alice frets over this, she's drawn through the looking glass back into Underland in hopes she can cheer up The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) who is dying of sadness as he believes his long gone family is now alive, and no one believes him. To help the Hatter, Alice must speak with Time (Sasha Baron Cohen) himself.

I'm one of the few that actually liked 2010's Alice in Wonderland. It wasn't the greatest film out there, but I've always loved the character of Alice and that movie making a billion dollars at the global box office was awesome. It's a shame that nearly all the cards are stacked against it this time around. (Whose idea was this to open it the same weekend as X-Men?)

Alice refusing to be slighted just because she's a woman is empowering. I appreciated that part of her story. I was a bit surprised on how the rest of the movie played out though. Time isn't a villain like the previews portray. He's just kind of an asshole who Alice literally steals from even though he tried to warn her. Then we have the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) having to come to terms with the fact that she's pretty responsible for the Red Queen (Helen Bonham-Carter) being the way she is. So both heroine's learn a big lesson. The ending was sweet, and fuck you, I may have came close to tearing up a bit. 

The visual effects are stunning. While the plot itself is all over the place and not exactly true to Lewis Carroll's story, the weirdness of it all is. I especially love the little metal "Seconds" working in Time's giant clock. They click together like Transformers to form minutes and hours. We didn't need this sequel. Most reviews are already shitting over it and it's bombing at the box office, but you know what? It's not that bad. For a film that doesn't even hit the two hour mark, I enjoyed it for what it was.

Recommended: Perhaps. (How's that for a rec?)

Grade: C+

Memorable Quote: "I came straight through the walls. Poof." - Alice (Mia Wasikowska)