Alice Through the Looking Glass
Let’s just say a quick goodbye to Alice. My dear, it’s been good to know you and your friends.
Despite some outstanding visuals, Alice Through the Looking Glass was simply a film that never should have been made. It tells a rather boring story that drags on to the point that you feel you should catch a nap, though the movie is slightly saved by an emotional exchange where some talented actors wave goodbye to each other at its conclusion.
Quite frankly, I would have missed the entire film had it not been the arrival of a new Saudi foreign exchange student. He is the 18-year-old brother of our first student, and he was perfect company for going to a film that I would have otherwise elected to miss. He only knows a little English, and the film made me wish that I suffered from the same linguistic affliction.
As the film limps along, you could only feel a bit sorry for the talented actors appearing on screen. Johnny Depp reappears as the Mad Hatter, a guy who is embracing death since he feels that his family is forever lost. Mia Wasikowska reprises her role of Alice, a strong-willed young woman who is hell bent on saving the Hatter from impending doom.
Alice needs to travel back through time, and she ends up meeting Time himself. Played by Sacha Baron Cohen, he continues his streak of appearing in lamentable films, although here he is one of the most interesting characters on screen.
As noted, the plot rambles on and on, leaving you feeling like you just escaped a human martini tumbler. Thank God that Helena Bonham Carter reappears as the Red Queen, stunningly appealing as a wicked woman who clearly hates everyone.
In closing, let me point out the development that took me to the edge of hating the entire film. Anne Hathaway reappears as the White Queen Mirana, a goody two shoes that leaves you feeling that she needed to be slapped. That becomes particularly true when you see an encounter between her and her sister, Ms. Bonham Carter, as kids where her lies subject the future Red Queen to be brutally disciplined. That punishment results in her falling and hitting her head, causing it to swell into the shape that left her unforgettable.
The White Queen waited until she was an honored adult to apologize. Too late, baby.
