Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) [Blu-ray]
Adventure | Family | Fantasy
Tagline: This spring, it's time for a little madness.
Disney invites you to step through the looking glass and join Alice, the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat and the Red Queen on a wild ride back to Wonderland! The adventure begins when Alice embarks on a daring quest to save her dear friend the Hatter (Johnny
Depp). Plunging back into the whimsical, topsy-turvy world of Wonderland with all her old companions and a host of zany new ones, Alice must take on Time himself to right a past wrong, find her muchness... and remember that nothing is impossible.
Storyline: Alice returns to the magical world of Underland, only to find the Hatter in a horrible state. With the help of her friends, Alice must travel through time to save the Mad Hatter and Underland's fate from the evil
clutches of the Red Queen and a clock like creature, known as Time. Written by Ghostface
Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, October 20, 2016 Director James Bobin's (The Muppets ) Alice Through the Looking Glass looks, sounds, and plays out like a movie made only to take advantage of a familiar
name, to light up the speakers and screen with dazzle, and treat eyeballs to a parade of colors and visual wonders the likes of which haven't been seen before, unless one counts Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, The Imaginarium of Dr.
Parnasus, or this film's predecessor Alice in Wonderland, to name but a few. And then there was nothing. There's no questioning the movie's production chops, but it banks entirely on them. It looks like Tim Burton -- colorfully zany and all
helter-skelter -- but it doesn't have his soul. Through the Looking Glass is an empty vessel beyond its façade, and the parlor tricks only carry it so far. Dramatically vacant, thematically irrelevant, overplayed, and too long, the movie wears outs
its welcome well before it really gets going, hoping to maintain audience interest with dazzle rather than depth.
Alice (Mia Wasikowska), faced with the prospect of losing everything she holds dear, returns to the Underland where she learns that the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) has fallen into ill health, and his family has gone missing in the time since Alice's battle
with the Jabberwocky. As she discusses the matter with familiar friends, including The White Queen Mirana (Anne Hathaway), Alice takes it upon herself to undertake a particularly dangerous journey through time to save the Hatter. The journey could prove
perilous to her in a number of ways. As she embarks on her quest, she meets Time (Sacha Baron Cohen) who controls time by way of a device called the "Chronosphere" that will set her journey in motion.
Alice Through the Looking Glass could rightly be called a "Costume Fantasy" as opposed to a "Costume Drama." The movie is impressively realized but little more, masquerading its luxurious wares to cover up a fairly routine and, frankly, dull tale
defined more by flamboyantly hammy performances and a story that just can't escape the feeling that it's simply a breeding ground for the filmmakers to splash the screen with color and wonder. The movie certainly gets props for its production design, even
if what's seen up on the screen isn't exactly breaking new ground. A step forward, maybe, but not trailblazing the next generation of movies (and if it is, then there's not much for the future of movies beyond the crude experience). The picture certainly
boasts an amazing scope, tons of imagination in its production, and a near flawless realization of a magical world(s). It expertly plays with scope and perspective, magnifications and minimizations, and it thrives on its portrait of worlds familiar but
seriously off balance and unusual. It's all classic Alice and, on the surface, Burton, just without the substance he usually blends into his visual frenzies.
Through the Looking Glass, then, only gets it partly right. The film has no sense of dramatic timing or urgency. Characters show precious little depth. Story execution is lacking. The screenplay isn't drivel -- there are a few decent enough ideas,
even if they're just there to prop up the movie's foundational strengths of digital, costume, makeup, and location wonders -- but it doesn't exactly give the actors material to challenge them or the the movie a tangible reason to exist beyond its visual
cues. Even the cast seems largely disinterested, more willing to allow wardrobe and makeup and support visuals to do the acting for them. Depp, Bonham Carter, Hathaway, and Cohen ham it up for the costume, grasping at the one and only straw they really
have in reach to do anything with their parts. Mia Wasikowska in the lead seems a little bored, struggling to find her character's center and playing more to the costumes and effects and anything tangible and less any sort of inner driving force that the
script tries to develop for her character.
In a way, Alice Through the Looking Glass is a success. It doesn't seem to exist to tell a meaningful story but instead to dazzle the viewer into submission and acceptance. If that's the case, then mission accomplished. The movie is certainly a
splendidly realized production, and it sings on the Blu-ray format. It's a positively gorgeous experience, and the 7.1 lossless audio is a fantastic compliment. Supplements are plentiful and fans will find plenty to explore. To the movie's fans this
release cannot be recommended highly enough; Disney hit it out of the park, assuming one is content with 1080p Blu-ray and not disappointed by the absence of a UHD disc with Atmos/X sound.
[CSW] -2.9- I agree with this reviewer: Cheshire Cat: When the day becomes the night and the sky becomes the sea, When the clock strikes heavy and there's no time for tea. And in our darkest hour, before my final rhyme, she will come back
home to Wonderland and turn back the hands of time. In spite of the stunning color and CGI special effects - which everyone admires - the critics do not like this Tim Burton sequel to Alice in Wonderland from six years ago. I am in partial
agreement...the story is an underwhelming compliment to the effects, which are just as good as the previous film. But I attended it with three of my grandchildren and they all loved it...Granddad liked it too, but having kids along makes the enjoyment so
much better. Mia Wasikowska, reprising her role as Alice, is the star of this film...and she is the overwhelming presence throughout; not Johnny Depp. Depp as the Hatter seems to be OK playing second fiddle...and I didn't think his performance was as
strong as Wonderland. The rest of the cast is good too, especially Sacha Baron Cohen as Time and Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen. I predict the film will be another blockbuster in spite of the critics. Recommended highly for children...not so
much for adults; but don't waste your money on 3D...the CGI experience is overwhelming enough in 2D.
I rented the 2D version to see if I wanted to get the 3D version and the answer was a provisional no, however if the grandchildren plan to spend the summer with us I might consider it.
[V5.0-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC - D-Box
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