Alice Through the Looking Glass: Movie Review

I can’t say I was a fan of Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland”. Sure it was visually stunning, but it just didn’t have much more going for it other than Burton’s visual style.  All the major players are back for the sequel, “Alice Through the Looking Glass”, with the exception of Burton.  Filling the director’s chair this time around is James Bobin (“The Muppets”), who is basically doing a Burton impression.  As much as I didn’t like the first film, “Looking Glass” is even far less interesting.

Set a few years after the events in “Wonderland”, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is now the captain of her late father’s ship.  When she arrives home after an extended time at sea, she comes to find out that her mother has sold the ship to the man she refused to marry.  It doesn’t take long for Alice to be swept back into Wonderland, where something even more terrible has happened.  It turns out that the Hatter (Johnny Depp) has become deathly ill.  The only way for her to take him is to travel through time and alter a moment in history that dealt with his parents.

Alice isn’t the only one traveling through time. Time, himself (Sacha Baron Cohen) is on her trail because she stole a device that can destroy the past, present, and future.  Iracebeth (Helena Bonham Carter) is back and and being just as evil as before. Her sister Mirana (Anne Hathaway) is also on hand with almost nothing to do.  Cohen as Time is the only interesting character here.  The film’s best scenes actually take place in his time-kingdom which is one gigantic clock.

Those who liked the first “Alice” film might find more enjoyment out of “Looking Glass” than I did, but it just lacks Burton’s touch which made “Wonderland” tolerable for me.  My recommendation is to avoid peeking into this looking glass.

By: Marc Ferman