This year, the Star Trek franchise hits a milestone, as it marks it’s 50th anniversary.  What started off as an ambitious, but admittedly cheesy prime time sci-fi adventure series on televisionin the 1960’s has since blossomed into one of the most influential and recognizable brands in entertainment.  In the last 50 years, the original series has spawned a movie franchise that in total has produced 13 films, albeit with questionable continuity.  It has also led to the creation of 4 different spin-off series, with another currently in development, all of which help to expand on the mythos that Star Trek is built upon and build up it’s legacy further.  And through all this, it’s still remarkable how Star Trek has managed to remain relevant all these years later.  Sure, the devoted fan base of the Trekkie population has always kept the series in the spotlight, but we are also still seeing even the casual viewer taking interest in Star Trek today, still holding it up in high regards.  I think what has helped Star Trek to adapt over the years has been the way it’s been guided by expert filmmakers who bring a bit of their own interests into the series.  When J.J. Abrams was tasked with bringing a re-imagined Star Trek to the big screen back in 2009, he stated that he was coming at it as someone who wasn’t a passionate fan of the series.  Don’t get him wrong, he still respected the Star Trek universe, but what he wanted to do was to create a version of the series that was not geared solely to the die hard fan, but also to the uninitiated viewer who may or may not be experiencing this universe for the first time.  And it was a new direction for the long running series that really paid off in the end.

J.J. Abrams re-imagined the Star Trek universe by bringing it back to it’s roots, with all the original characters, but opened up the possibilities of different directions by injecting the concept of an alternate timeline into the mix.  It was a genius way to allow a new, more up-to-date take on the origins of the Star Trek, but also give the devoted fan base the relief that it’s not rewriting what has happened before it; keeping the original series and films respectfully a part of this on-going franchise (take note Ghostbusters).  The 2009 relaunch of Star Trek was universally praised by both Trekkies and general audiences alike, but this also put pressure on the filmmakers on how they would follow this up.  The sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), encountered a much different reaction when it was released.  While not an outright disappointment, a lot of fans of Star Trek were underwhelmed by the uneven sequel.  The plot made very little sense; some of the cast were very out of character; and the finale of the film shamelessly stole scenes wholesale right out of the beloved Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), showing clear-cut audience pandering that left many fans cold.  While I stated in my review that I still enjoyed Into Darkness overall, I do acknowledge that it had a lot of unsolvable problems that hurt it, namely in the dreary, taking itself too seriously screenplay by Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci and Damon Lindelof.  When it was announced that another Star Trek was in the works, many people feared that the wrong direction that Into Darkness was taking the series into was going to continue, and with J.J. Abrams jumping ship to relaunch the Star Wars series with The Force Awakens (2015), it looked like Star Trek was heading for a downfall, just as it was finding it’s footing once again.  So, with Star Trek Beyond now in theaters, are we seeing the best days of the series long behind us, or will this movie take it back to it’s celestial heights?

The story finds the crew of the starship Enterprise in the middle of their five year mission into deep space, or as famously stated, the Final Frontier.  Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) begins to question his place within the Federation hierarchy as the mundane and thankless missions take their toll on him, and he seriously considers giving up his captain’s seat for a vice admiral position.  At the same time, his First Officer Spock (Zachary Quinto) is torn by his duty to the ship and his desire to help his Vulcan people rebuild their culture, leading him to also consider leaving his position.  Their personal struggles are put on hold when a distress call is brought to their attention, leading them to take the Enterprise out to a remote planet on the edges of the galaxy.  There, the Enterprise is attacked by an immense, swarm-like fleet of ships, which leads to the destruction of the Enterprise and the forced evacuation of it’s crew. After crash landing on the remote planet, the Enterprise crew is split apart and at the mercy of the ruthless mercenary force, led by the mysterious Krall (Idris Elba).  Kirk and Chekov (the late Anton Yelchin) search for answers as to where their lost crew might be, and what Krall is after.  Spock, wounded from his encounters with the alien force, must rely on the help of Dr. “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban) to survive.  Sulu (John  Cho) and Uhura (Zoe Saldana) seek to escape the clutches of Krall’s forces as they are confined with the other hostages.  And Scotty (Simon Pegg) runs across a lone wolf rebel on the same planet named Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), who may have the means necessary of helping the crew reunite and fight back against Krall.  But time is short for all of them, as Krall seeks to use a weapon in the Enterprise’s possession that could destroy millions of lives at the nearby Federation star base.

A lot of questions were raised whether or not the Star Trek franchise would manage in a post-Abrams direction, and the choice of direction given over to Justin Lin of Fast and the Furious fame seemed to make a lot of fans uneasy.  Thankfully, all of our fears were for not because Star Trek Beyond is a success all the way through; not just as a continuation of the Star Trek franchise, but as a movie in general.  From beginning to end, this is a thoroughly enjoyable film, and probably the most fun I’ve had watching a movie all summer.  The action scenes are phenomenal, and very creatively staged.  The cast is engaged and clearly having fun.  The script is also much more in tone with the basics of what this series is about.  It should be noted that a draft of this screenplay was written by Simon Pegg (who plays Scotty in the movie) and his input brings a renewed focus to the series.  Pegg is clearly a fan of Star Trek and he manages to show that in his writing by essentially crafting a two hour episode of the series.  The crew encounters a strange, new world; do battle with the hostile force; and return home after saving the day as a team; nothing more complex than that, and it works.  Pegg doesn’t have to rely on paying homage to the past or rehashing old ideas in a new context.  Here, he just let’s the story and characters go about their business like they normally would, and that makes for a much more engaging adventure in this universe.  Also, a lot of credit should go to director Lin for managing to keep the momentum going in this series after the departure of it’s high profile director.  Trekkies, rest assured, your franchise is in good hands.

Before I go into the many great things that work in this film, I also want to point out that it’s not 100% perfect either.  I think that the while I do enjoy the direction of Justin Lin in this movie, it can sometimes veer dangerously close to incomprehensibility.  Lin’s style matches the frenetic vibe of the Fast and the Furious series perfectly, but it sometimes clashes a bit with the story being told here.  The pacing for instance suffers a bit from the quick-editing that Lin is more used to, at least in the film’s opening act, where plot points are thrown our way without much time to stick properly.  But, thankfully, when the film reaches the remote planet in the second act, it begins to settle down, and allows the narrative to flow out more naturally.  Lin’s style also helps to make the action scenes more kinetic than in past films, and thankfully it’s not in a way that feels out of place here.  Those of you worried about the image of Kirk riding a motorcycle that was shown in the trailer, be rest assured; it plays out much better in context and is not a forced injection of Fast and the Furious machismo into the Star Trek universe.  The only other negative working against the film is unfortunately the central villain, Krall.  He’s something of a weak, underwritten character who’s motivations are barely explored, and even when we find out more about his past, it’s kind of shoe-horned in very awkwardly.  This is more the fault of the screenplay rather than the actor playing him, because Idris Elba does try his very best and does leave somewhat of an impression.  The character is adequate, but never grabs our attention the same way that Eric Bana’s Nero or Benedict Cumberbatch’s Khan had done before.  Even still, the character could have been much more poorly handled, and it’s to the credit of Elba’s abilities as a performer that he works fine at all in this film.

Perhaps the film’s greatest strength would be the absolute stellar cast assembled for this series.  These actors were given the unenviable task of taking over iconic characters and making them their own, and each one of them has done a superb job.  Given that one of the stars of the film also served as screenwriter, it’s no surprise that much of the movie is devoted to building the interconnected relationships with one another.  What I love best about the film is that it attempts to pair up characters that don’t normally share screen-time together in this series and allows us to see what might happen as a result.  I especially liked the pairing of Spock and Bones in this film, as it gives the movie it’s most amusing subplot.  Spock, of all people, gets some of the film’s biggest laughs, and I thought it was a welcome surprise for this series to use the character this way, yet still remain true.  Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, and everyone else continue to impress as these iconic characters; embodying the roles without falling into parody.  I also liked the fact that they’re able to find new angles to explore with them.  News broke earlier that this film was going to reveal that this version of Sulu is gay (something that original Sulu and out actor George Takei objected to, despite it being a special acknowledgement to him), but I was pleased to see that it was presented in a very subtle, non-exploitative way that does not change anything about the character at all; it’s just a nice added detail.  I also liked how well the new character of Jaylah fit into the story, and the character dynamics overall.  She could have easily have been a stereotypical tough girl character, but her determination and resourcefulness really helps to add something to the film, and it makes her a more interesting character as a result.  I think she works especially well because she is paired with Scotty for most of the movie, and their distinctive personalities mesh together surprisingly well.

Star Trek Beyond’s visuals are also noteworthy of praise.  The film supposedly had a smaller budget than Into Darkness, but you wouldn’t know it.  Amazingly, this movie feels quite epic in scope.  The most impressive centerpiece of the film is the Yorktown Space Station, a massive glass enclosed satellite base that’s other-worldly and breathtaking at the same time.  It gives the viewer a sense of awe and wonder that you normally don’t find regularly in the Star Trek franchise.  The Base also provides a perfect setting for the climatic battle at the end, which is a significant upgrade from the previous film, which end in a very lackluster way.  I especially loved the way that the cityscapes of the colossal base seemed to layer on top of one another, making the climax all the more eye-catching.  The planet where most of the film is set also is beautifully realized, and feels at times like a hearken back to the classic series itself; with rock quarries and the remote California deserts and forests acting as stand-ins for an alien world (although this time, Canada served as the location shooting for this film).  Overall it’s a movie that feels big without ever trying too hard to look big.  It’s all in how the visuals ended up being used I guess.  Justin Lin takes the best of what he’s learned from Fast and the Furious and gives Star Trek a consistent, non-flashy identity, and that’s to be commended.  J.J. Abrams sometimes distracting lens flares are no where to be seen this time around, and I think that’s a positive move for the series.  There’s noting groundbreaking in this Star Trek; it’s just pure solid action in service of the story rather than a distraction from it.

So, I would highly recommend seeing Star Trek Beyond.  It may not be the greatest we’ve seen from the Star Trek universe, but it’s a worthy addition that provides great thrills nonetheless.  The characters are all still wonderfully realized, and the movie allows them to play off one another in a very fun and engaging way.  I especially like the new direction that Justin Lin brought to this series, which was in danger of growing stale after Into Darkness seemed to take a step backward.  He gives the movie an impressive sense of scale, while at the same time never overwhelming us with the action either; allowing the characters to drive the story instead.  I also love the way that Simon Pegg brought a sense of fun back to this franchise with his script.  He doesn’t try to be sanctimonious or too smart with the material, which is a good thing.  He knows what Star Trek is supposed to be, and he just let’s it play out like it normally would, making the adventure all the more engaging.  My hope is that this team continues on this road in future installments, because it came together almost perfectly here.  Sadly, they’ll be missing a crucial piece with the sudden passing of Chekov actor Anton Yelchin, who thankfully gets more of a presence in this feature and likewise delivered with a great amount of charm in his role.  The movie also pays tribute to original Spock, Leonard Nimoy, in a respectful way, and how they eulogize him within the film is an incredibly touching moment.  Overall, this was one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had watching a movie this year.  Movies like Captain America: Civil War and Finding Dory may be better overall, but Star Trek Beyond might be the most fun cinematic experience you will have at the movies this summer season.  It’s blockbuster entertainment at it’s finest, and a very worthwhile way to honor the 50th anniversary of this monumental series.

Rating: 8.5/10

One thing that you’ll learn about the making of an animated film is that it takes a very long time.  On average, an animated film takes about 4-5 years to make, depending on the time put into development.  It’s not a medium where you can merely just grab a camera and start shooting.  Everything, and I do mean everything, you see in an animated film is built from scratch, all to create the illusion of life.  It’s painstaking whether you’re working with drawings on paper or pixels in a computer, or even with puppetry.  That’s why you rarely see sequels that are actually as good or better than the original in the genre.  Animated sequels are common, but too often you’ll see studios rush too fast capitalize on an animated hit, and the end result will not be worth it.  That long development cycle is necessary, because it allows the filmmakers to discover whether or not there is more story to tell and if there is more creative ideas left to explore.  But, sadly in the animation market, too many animators get anxious and just fall back onto formula and create sub-par efforts that pale in comparison to their predecessor.  We’ve seen this happen with Dreamworks Animation and their sequels to Shrek and Madagascar, as well as with the mundane Ice Age series.  Disney even managed to disgrace it’s legacy with an era of terrible Direct to Video sequels to their classic library.  Pixar on the other hand takes their time between movies (sometimes over a decade) and the results have worked out very well for them.

You would think that with the remarkable success that Pixar has experienced over the years that they would’ve produced more sequels over the years.  Sure, they have done a few, but Pixar’s history is one of incredible self-restraint.  They don’t just rush a sequel out into the market just because audiences demand it.  They assess whether or not a sequel is warranted and then they devote many years to getting the film done just right.  They have only once failed to live up to this, and that was the rushed-into-production Cars 2 (2011).  The movie became Pixar’s first ever critical failure and it’s a lesson that I’m sure that they’ve taken note of.  A lot of people were also not happy with the Monsters Inc. (2001) prequel Monsters University (2013), though I actually didn’t mind that one so much.  It was a little superfluous (like most bad animated sequels), but the clever visuals and strong characterizations helped to lift it up.  And, for a sequel made 12 years after the original, I felt that it was a more than welcome return for the characters.  And that’s something that Pixar has become especially great at; making such a long wait worth it.  There was an 11 year gap between Toy Story 2 (1999) and 3 (2010), and yet the series built onto itself like no time had passed at all.  Now, Pixar is releasing another sequel after the longest time gap in their history; 13 years.  It is the sequel to one of the studios biggest hits, the underwater adventure Finding Nemo (2003), only this time, the focus is on the original film’s lovable sidekick Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres), appropriately titling it Finding Dory (2016).  The question now is whether or not the 13 years was worth the wait.  Did Pixar manage to live up to the legacy of the original movie, or did Finding Dory just wash away with the tide like it was nothing worthwhile?

The film brings us full circle with Dory as a character.  We see her in childhood with her Mom (voiced by Diane Keaton) and Dad (Eugene Levy), who both adore her as their sweet, innocent child but also fear for her, due to Dory’s debilitating short term memory.  After some time, we see that Dory has lost her family, due to a reason that she can’t even remember and she spends her entire adolescence searching for the answer.  We cut to years later and Dory has found a new home living with Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Nemo (Hayden Rolance).  Despite living a happy life with the clownfish duo, Dory soon has flashbacks to memories of her lost parents, with a clue as to where they may be.  She resolves to go look for them, even though they may be on the other end of the ocean.  Marlin and Nemo tag along and the trio eventually reach Morro Bay, California, where they find a Marine Wildlife Aquarium and Rehabilitation Center.  Unfortunately, Dory is separated from her companions and brought to a quarantine room at the facility.  There she meets a stealthy octopus named Hank (Ed O’Neill) who agrees to help her only if she gives up her classification tag to him, which will get him on a truck destined for an aquarium in Cleveland.  Though they have conflicting interests, the two work together and eventually swim their way across the aquarium meeting other creatures, including a near-sighted whale shark named Destiny (Kaitlin Olson) and a temperamental beluga whale named Bailey (Ty Burrell).  Meanwhile Marlin and Nemo try to find a way to reunite with their friend, helped out by two lazy sea lions named Fluke and Rudder (Idris Elba and Dominic West).  The only question that remains is whether or not Dory is too late to reunite with her parents and whether or not her short term memory will stand in her way of solving the riddle.

The good news for fans of the original is that Finding Dory is a very worthy follow-up to the original film.  One thing that this sequel benefits from is that it was crafted by the original director, Andrew Stanton.  In the intervening years between movies, Stanton created another animated masterpiece with Wall-E (2008), but he also had a disastrous foray into live action film-making with John Carter (2012).  Finding Dory finds Mr. Stanton in his comfort zone once again and you can tell that he put a lot of love and care into the movie.  It’s still the smart, funny, and heart-touching experience that you remember it being, and the best thing is that it’s all done without retreading too much familiar ground.  There are nods to the original movie, but they are used sparingly, and the movie makes a concerted effort to try new things out rather than rest on it’s laurels.  So, does all this make it as good as the original, if not better?  Unfortunately, I can’t say that it is.  It’s a very solid film to be sure, but there are some nagging issues that prevent it from being a near masterpiece like Finding Nemo and many other of Pixar’s best.  The first issue is the fact that the novelty has worn off from the original.  Finding Nemo was a hit because it triumphed as a great story and a groundbreaking visual wonder, creating an unforgettable world to explore that we’ve never seen.  Finding Dory doesn’t really add much to the world it’s created, unlike say how Toy Story  managed to find new avenues to explore within it’s environment; taking the toy heroes out into the open world.  Visually, it’s a continuation and not a reinvention, which is nice, but it doesn’t push the envelope in the same visceral way.  The other problem with the movie, sadly, is the inclusion of Marlin and Nemo in the story.  I still love these characters, but their arcs completed in the last movie.  They have nothing to do here but to just tag along and offer support.  I understand why they’re still here (why wouldn’t they be) but their moments in the film count among it’s weakest points.

Thankfully, there’s still much to praise about the movie beyond it’s shortcomings, and chief among them is the expanded role of Dory.  This isn’t the first time that Pixar has elevated a supporting character from the original film into the central role, and the last time they did, it proved disastrous (making the obnoxious Mater the Tow Truck the central character of Cars 2).  This time it works because the movie thankfully devotes enough time to establishing the stakes in Dory’s quest for answers.  The film also does the very honorable step of taking her disability seriously this time around.  Dory’s short-term memory was portrayed mostly for laughs in the original movie, but not in a mean spirited way.  Here, it’s given more weight and we see the awful effects it can actually have at times.  It’s a very mature examination into how people live with disabilities in their life and the way that things we take for granted become more of a challenge for them.  Sure, the movie still plays up Dory’s forgetfulness for a few laughs, but I did admire the fact that it took the time to address the seriousness of it as well.   Ellen DeGeneres also delivers some of her best work ever here.  The character of Dory has been dear and close to her heart over the years and she campaigned a long time for this sequel to happen.  You can tell that she adored returning to play this character and the movie once again plays to her strengths as both a comedian and an actress.  I especially love the way that the optimism of the character defines ever move she makes, whether she’s in peril or not, and it’s that indomitable spirit that helps to make her expanded role all the more sensible.  She earns the spotlight and it helps to make this a worthier sequel.

Much of the other positives found in the film belong to the exceptional new cast of characters.  If there’s anything that defines the difference between good and bad sequels, it’s the strength of newly introduced characters into the story, and thankfully, each one is a worthwhile addition here.  Thankfully, the movie actually uses very few of the original film’s cast of characters, choosing instead to focus on Dory, Marlin and Nemo.  The rest of the movie gives us a good amount of time to establish the new cast, and they are just as funny and interesting as anyone we’ve seen before.  The best of the new characters would be Hank, the seven-armed octopus, whose character arc is the strongest of all the characters in the movie.  We see him first as a self-interested curmudgeon (something actor Ed O’Neill has plenty of experience playing) and through his interaction with the eternally optimistic Dory, he opens up more and more, becoming perhaps the movie’s most complex character.  It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia alum Kaitlin Olson also makes a great addition to the cast as the clumsy but lovable Destiny, as does Modern Family’s Ty Burrell as the irritated Bailey.  Albert Brooks also makes a welcome return as the voice of Marlin, maintaining the dry witty humor of the character from the first movie, despite losing the central focus on his story.  The movie also makes non-verbal characters just as memorable, including a bizarre helper bird named Becky, who’s one of the film’s funniest additions.  Also, Sigourney Weaver has a great cameo as herself in one of the film’s best running gags.  Overall, this well rounded cast helps to make this a very enjoyable experience.

It should also be noted that this movie is absolutely beautiful to look at.  Of course, that is to be expected at this point from Pixar.  But, keep in mind, Finding Dory has to live up to the groundbreaking visuals of it’s predecessor, and it does so here in a magnificent way.  The first part of the film will feel very familiar to fans of the original, taking viewers back to the coral reef home base of Marlin, Dory and Nemo.  But, even here the filmmakers include sights we haven’t seen in this world before, including a really spectacular sequence depicting a manta ray migration.  The Aquarium scenes are also beautifully represented, with all the translucent lighting and deep color spectrum that you would usually find in a place like that.  The animation is also beautifully handled with all the characters.  Of course Dory, Marlin and Nemo still act the way you’d expect them to, but you can definitely see that Pixar is benefiting from updated digital models that are far more expressive than the ones used in Finding Nemo, showing just how much the art-form has advanced in the last 13 years.  The animation of Hank the octopus in particular is especially astounding.  He has the ability to camouflage himself to appear like any texture and this plays out in the movie in a lot of creative and hilarious ways.  I was especially amazed to see the variety of things that Hank could turn himself into and each reveal is wonderfully realized.  Also, because you can’t see Hank’s mouth for much of the movie, a lot of acting had to be done through the character’s eyes, and the animation team did a spectacular job of capturing a wide range of emotions through the character in this manner.  It may be an entirely different generation removed from it’s predecessor given the technology of today, but this film compliments the original perfectly and they both work together as a unified whole in terms of visuals.

So, despite some minor story issues, Finding Dory is a very welcome follow-up to a beloved classic.  It may not reach the same dramatic heights, but it doesn’t let the viewer down either.  I did love the fact that they gave a lot more weight to the character of Dory, making her much more than just a comic relief sidekick.  The movie also manages to maintain the same sense of fun from the original; never going too heavy into the dramatic parts while at the same time keeping the humor on point and not too distracting.  Pixar has always managed to find that right balance between pathos and comedy, and Finding Dory continues to show their command over these two sides.  There will indeed be moments that will pull at your heartstrings (have those Kleenexes ready) which by now is a Pixar trademark.  The laugh out loud moments are there too, and you won’t be disappointed by them either.  So, it may not have the sublimeness of Pixar at it’s absolute finest, but there’s still plenty of solid moments to like here overall.  As far as sequels to Pixar films go, this one is still a notch below the Toy Story ones, but better than Monsters University; and also infinitely better than the off-road wreckage that is Cars 2.  Even if the movie is a B+ effort from Pixar, it still makes it way better than 90% of the other animated movies released this year (Zootopia being the year’s only other great animated film).  Pixar’s track record remains strong with this sequel, and it shows that little is lost even after 13 years of waiting.  Here’s hoping this proves the be the truth when Finding Dory’s staggeringly long wait record is broken by the 14-15 year gap between Incredibles movies.  In the meantime, there should be nothing to stop you from just keeping swimming over to the local theater to see the delightful animated sequel.

Rating: 8.5/10

Fantasy films seem to go through cycles in Hollywood.  Sometimes they are out, and then sometimes they become hot properties again.  After something of a resurgence in the 1980’s, the fantasy genre went into hibernation during the 90’s, until Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy brought it back in a big way.  Afterwards, it seemed like any Young Adult novel or any original fantasy concept became a profitable investment to make, until it didn’t.  Towards the end of the 2000’s, the fantasy genre seemed to fall by the wayside with Comic Book movies taking it’s place.  And now, it seems like the genre is only being kept afloat by the one studio that has seemingly cornered the market now; Disney.  What benefits Disney is the fact that they’ve built their brand around the fantasy genre, and they have a proven track record of getting it right.  Think of any iconic fairy tale, and more than likely Disney has made the definitive version of that story for the big screen.  But, when we think of the definitive versions of these stories, like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or the Little Mermaid, it’s usually the animated version that we think about.  So now, it is interesting to see Disney taking their own animated classics and translating them into live action today and in turn becoming the only studio delivering grand scale fantasy films to the market right now.  It’s easy to see why they are doing it; they have an extensive catalog to draw from and each comes with it’s own built in audience.  But, one has to wonder if rehashing their old classics in a new guise is actually beneficial to the Disney brand or not, and whether or not this adds any substance to the fantasy genre as a whole.

So far, Disney’s live action adaptations of their animated films have been mixed.  One of them did hit it’s mark last year in Kenneth Branagh’s retelling of Cinderella, a movie that did a great job of drawing on the nostalgia of the original film while still maintaining an identity of it’s own that worked.  This year’s The Jungle Book did an okay job with it’s adaptation, delivering on the visuals but underwhelming in it’s plot.  And then you get the bad adaptations that missed the mark completely.  2014’s Maleficent disappointed because it took the edge out of one of Disney’s greatest villains as well as missed the point of the original fairy tale.  And then there was Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (2010), the movie that began this recent trend of adapting animated classics.  The concept sounded perfect on paper; legendary Gothic filmmaker Burton taking on Lewis Carroll’s classic absurdist fantasy with Johnny Depp bringing his special brand of hammy acting to the role of the Mad Hatter.  How could it go wrong?  Well, as both an adaptation and a movie, it went very wrong.  Tim Burton’s Alice was no where near as whimsical as it should’ve been, and instead was dour and surprisingly violent.  This Alice had none of the cartoonish zaniness of Beetlejuice (1988) or the visual splendor of The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).   It’s Tim Burton at his most disinterested, merely delivering on what the studio wanted instead of coming up with something unique.  Still, the movie was a box office hit, grossing over a billion worldwide despite it’s shortcomings.  A sequel was naturally in the works thereafter, but perhaps rightly, Tim Burton decided to move on.  Now a follow-up is here six years after the release of the original, titled Alice Through the Looking Glass (taken from Lewis Carroll’s own sequel to his original novel), and it’s premiering in a decidedly different atmosphere than it’s predecessor.  Did Disney learn some of the lessons of the original or did they just double down and coast on formula instead of doing something different?

The movie takes place only a few years after the adventures in the last film.  For those who haven’t seen the original, it should be noted that the 2010 film was not a remake of the original story, but instead something of a pseudo-sequel, finding Alice returning to Wonderland in adulthood.  This sequel finds Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) in the position of sea merchant, running the same ship that her father once did.  She unfortunately returns home to find that her investment partner has suddenly died and that the deed to her ship is in the possession of his spoiled, entitled heir, who’s looking to fire her.  Alice now finds that her livelihood is in danger, but her dilemma is interrupted when she is visited by her old friend The Catepiller (Alan Rickman in his last film role), now a butterfly who can cross between worlds.  He shows Alice a way back to Underland (their home’s name, which Alice mistakes for Wonderland) through a mirror (or looking glass), where she is greeted by the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) as well as the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen) and the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry).  They tell Alice that the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) has lost his mind and that the only way to bring him back to himself is to find his family, who are believed to be dead.  Alice is tasked with altering the past to prevent the Mad Hatter from losing his loved ones, and to do so, she must steal a device called the Chronosphere from Time himself (Sasha Baron Cohen).  Through her time travels, she tries to save her friend, while at the same time learning about all the backstories of the residents of Underland, all the while being hunted down by Time, looking to get back what’s his.  She soon learns, all the problems facing her friends lead her once again to facing an old enemy; the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter).

So, as you can see, very little of this actually bears any resemblance to the Alice in Wonderland story that we all know.  This is a movie that merely uses the setting and the characters for it’s own purpose.  Now, does this work out as a good thing or a bad thing for the movie?  Well, here’s the situation.  On the whole, this is a better movie than the 2010 original; but not by much.  Using an original plot as opposed to mishandling a familiar one does indeed benefit the film; it’s less pressure to stay faithful to the original source.  That being said, this movie still carries over the same problem of the original, in that this world never once fells right as a representation of Wonderland.  Lewis Carroll’s original 1865 children’s novel was a masterpiece of absurdist literature.  It appealed to readers because Carroll’s Wonderland was a place where all rules of law, manners, and even physics were turned upside down and everyone there was just a little bit “mad”, making Alice’s journey both whimsical while at the same time always perilous.  It’s beloved by anyone who lives outside social norms, embraces the unusual, and let’s their imagination go wild.  The animated form is a perfectly suited medium for Carroll’s vision, because it’s the best way to capture the mad-cap sense of it all, and that’s why Disney’s 1951 feature is as beloved as it is.  So, it makes it all the more baffling why Tim Burton’s film as well as this sequel tries so hard to bring order and sense to Wonderland.  This is a Wonderland that’s fanciful, but in a way that’s forced.  It’s as if the studio was playing it too safe with the material, and in turn, it kind of neuters the vision of Wonderland as a whole.  This sequel sadly falls into the same trap as it’s predecessor by making Wonderland feel like every other fantasy realm we’ve ever seen, and less like it’s own unique world.  If there was ever a time to show off that anything is possible in the realm of fantasy, this would be the film to do it in, and it’s sadly a road not taken by this series.

I believe that a great deal of the problem with this movie and the original is in the screenplay.  Screenwriter Linda Woolverton has had a long history of writing for the Disney company (contributing to the scripts of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King for instance), but recently she’s been tasked with adapting these animated classics into the live action medium and I feel that it’s a task that’s not well suited for her.  A big problem with her writing style is that it relies too heavily on explaining things.  She seems to devote too much time to trying to make sense of a story that doesn’t need to be complicated in the first place.  There’s a lot of “on the nose” dialogue in this film, like Alice’s constant usage of half-baked philosophical musings that have no meaning, such as ” Sometimes I believe in as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”  The way Woolverton plots her movies also tends to lean too closely to fan fiction rather than actual real screenwriting.  Like most low grade fan fics, Alice seems too self-interested in letting uncharacteristic scenarios play out than actually building any weight behind them.  This has led to some bad story-telling ideas at Disney recently like turning Maleficent into a hero instead of a villain (another script written by Mrs. Woolverton), and here, it makes the mistake of turning Alice into a proactive, warrior-like crusader, instead of the wandering traveler that she is in the book.  It’s a weird thing that’s happened to the fantasy genre in the wake of Lord of the Rings, where it seems like each film needs to end with their hero taking sword in hand and fighting in an epic battle, as Alice did against the Jabberwocky in the previous film.  Thankfully, that doesn’t happen in this movie, but Alice’s Back to the Future style time travel adventure doesn’t quite fit well either.

The big difference between this and the 2010 Alice is mostly in the style of film-making.  Instead of Tim Burton directing, this time the reins are given over to James Bobin, who a couple years back delivered a charming new big screen adventure for the The Muppets in their new movie of the same name.  He also started off his career as the co-creator of the cult series Flight of the Concords, which shows that he has a knack for absurdist comedy.  So, allowing him to direct this Alice in Wonderland sequel makes sense.  Unfortunately, Bobin can’t quite overcome the faults of the screenplay.  His management of the story still feels disjointed and at times rushed, not allowing any cohesive character development or tone to take hold.  That being said, he does help improve some of the visual aesthetic for the film.  The Tim Burton Alice not only suffered story-wise, but it was also ugly to look at, with muted colors and garish CGI overkill; only the Oscar-winning costumes by Coleen Atwood stood out.  Thankfully, Bobin does make this sequel look brighter.  The colors pop a lot more and there are some genuinely interesting visual ideas throughout, like Time’s gothic style fortress or the Red Queen’s garish vegetable built  hide-out.  Sadly, most of these visuals are drowned out by the movie’s over-reliance on CGI imagery.  Not only that, but the pacing is so manic, that the movie never devotes enough time to allow these visuals to soak in.  The movie only excels when it’s allowed to embrace the weirdness of this world and that sadly is few and far between.  But, credit is due to James Bobin for at least trying to make this world interesting, as opposed to Tim Burton’s disinterested approach in the last one.

The cast is also a mixed bag.  Mia Wasikowska was decent enough as Alice in the original, and she remains mostly the same this time around too.  Alice has so far been a fairly bland hero in these movies, but that’s more the fault of how she’s written than how she’s played.  Mia at least tries to make the character sympathetic, even when the script calls for her to do some really stupid things.  The same cannot be said for Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter.  This is without a doubt the worst performance that the notoriously eccentric actor has ever created.  Sometimes his acting intuitions generate some interesting roles out of him, and his oddball role as Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies is rightly iconic for that reason.  But here, I don’t know what he was thinking.  His whispery voiced, kubuki make-up wearing Hatter is a complete misfire of a character.  He’s not charming nor endearing.  Anytime he’s onscreen, the movie suffers as a result.  I get the feeling that he was just saddled with this role only because it was the only way Tim Burton could get Disney on board and Depp was only helping a friend out, but could never fully grasp the character and this was him just coasting on instinct.  Sadly for him, he’s the character that the rest of the film hinges on, and the lack of appeal for the Hatter reflects badly on the film as a whole.  Fairing better are Sasha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter in their roles as Time and the Red Queen.  These two seem to know what kind of movie they’re in and they are clearly having fun with their roles.  Cohen actually make Time a surprisingly effective new addition to this world; both funny and poignant when he needs to be, utilizing his talents as an actor perfectly.  Carter, the best performer from the original as well, continues to be strong here and gives the single funniest performance, surprising given who her costars are.  It really shows how much the right cast can elevate material they’re given, and I applaud Disney for not only holding on to what they already had, but also expanding it and giving them more to  do.

So, is it worth revisiting this Wonderland yet again.  Well, if you were a fan of the original (which I doubt very few are) I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.  The movie is a mild improvement over the original, but let’s not forget, the bar was low to begin with.  This sequel is still plagued by terrible writing, a way too artificial visual aesthetic, and an uneven cast of characters.  Not to mention, there’s no cohesion to the plot (the story-lines within Wonderland and outside of it have nothing to do with each other) and the time travel element is pointless and never taken to it’s full advantage.  That being said, this film does feel less lazy than it’s predecessor and it thankfully avoids some of the same genre pitfallls.  This movie thankfully doesn’t end in an epic battle like so many other fantasy epics, and instead goes for a somewhat near apocalyptic conclusion.  There’s also the performances of Sasha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter that help to liven up the movie and keep this from being too humorless and dour.  Still, the fact that Disney devoted so much time and effort to create a Wonderland that feels anything but wonderful is not a good sign.  If you’re going to bring Lewis Carroll’s absurdist vision to life, don’t hold it back.  Disney is the studio best equipped to adapt this source material and they did an admirable job of just that in their animated classic.  Sadly, the translation has not panned out in the live action medium and it makes one wonder if Disney’s raiding of it’s animated canon for this treatment is really a good idea overall.  If you want to watch Alice in Wonderland, go with the original animated classic.  Alice Through the Looking Glass is not the worst thing ever, but it’s a far cry from wonderful too.

Rating: 5.5/10