Alice Through the Looking Glass

3D Movie Review

Written By: Adolph Vega

3D

For such a visually impressive movie you would think that 3D would fit this movie like a glove, however this is not the case. The movie starts with a rainy seafaring action scene that looks initially impressive in 3D. As the movie unfolds, most of the 3D is inconsistent, forgettable and only randomly peppered into a few scenes. I cannot recommend watching this movie in 3D, because it’s clearly an after thought. 

Final Verdict: Terrible 3D

Movie

I love story-lines with the element of time travel. Something about that trope I just find fascinating and compelling. On the other hand, my biggest pet peeve is when stories are contrived and make story elements too convenient. Sadly this movie combines both story elements into one and is disappointing .

“Alice Through The Looking Glass” is a direct follow up to the previous live action Disney movie "Alice In Wonderland" which released in 2010.  Alice is always looking for adventure and is never really content in the real world. The movie is presented mostly in wonderland, with only a few scenes within the ‘real world’ within the movie. The ‘real world’ within this movie is set in late 19th century England and is focused on Alice’s mother. Unfortunately, this real world storyline is paper-thin and under explained. This movie is mostly about the mad hatter and his family in Wonderland. Eventually, the story leads to the element of time travel and the dynamic between the white and red queens. Most of the characters within this movie are from its predecessor. One new interesting character is that of TIME. Sasha Baron Cohen portrays this character of TIME and is probably the best element of the movie. I found this idea of the abstract element of time to be an actual living being intriguing. The movie has many corny jokes focused on the character of time. These jokes are hit or miss and become annoying , just like the movie as a whole. 

What I find to be the most annoying element of this movie is how contrived it is. For example, the time machine is incredibly easy for Alice to use, and makes it easy for her to travel to the correct time period. She literally jumps into the time machine and figures out how to use it within seconds. Secondly the rules of time travel are not clearly established. Most of the rules of Wonderland are not established either, so it’s frustrating that anything can happen at any time for any reason. The element of time travel is used for character development and you see some backstory between characters at different points of the past. This dynamic is interesting and gives some depth to these characters. Sadly, the acting within this movie is way over the top, annoying and diminishes the character development that is presented. The movie gives the audience more questions than answers. It seems like everyone within this movie is a one-dimensional caricature that is never truly fleshed out. I found the ending of this movie to be strange and unsatisfying because it’s a little too cute. The visuals of this movie are captivating and well done, but it can’t mask over the issues with the over acting, paper-thin plot and a story that doesn’t make much sense.

What is the moral of this movie? Just dream the impossible and everything will fall into place? The movie is clearly trying to preach a moral of some kind, but it's totally not clear what that actually is . Is this a movie about the importance of family , 19th Century feminism , dealing with grief , mental illness or understanding the past ? The movie muddles all of those topics .  Everything that happens to Alice is so convenient that it robs the story of any challenge or real conflict. Why can't Alice just stay in Wonderland ? This element is never explained and honestly it makes more sense for the character to never leave Wonderland. I was never bored watching this movie – it’s a fun escapist adventure – but the more you think about it, the more it doesn’t make any sense and just falls apart. 

Final Verdict: 3/10

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