Alice Through the Looking Glass (1998)

Good concept, poorly executed.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I remember loving this extra surreal and abstract version of the already wacky Alice in Wonderland book when i was a lot younger. But I had a small problem with the fact that it is Alices mother who gets to star in the movie and play Alice, though i always thought that Kate Beckinsale did a great job of portraying the character. However now that i am older i would definitely say that this is the best version of Alice in Wonderland that i have ever come across. Alice is perfect. She is thoughtful and a little crazy but in a mature way (but not so mature as to ruin the fact that Alice is a little girl). The queens are excellent, Tweedledum and Tweedledee are great, and the rendition of 'The Walrus and the Carpenter' is superb . I would recommend this to everyone who loves the Alice books, especially adults.

Are there redeeming features here? Because I can't find them. This film is horrible on just so many levels.The set design is shoddy to the point that it looks like a high school performance for the most part (despite the assembly of a great cast of English character actors - Ian Holm, Steve Coogan, Kate Beckinsale as Alice - we know where the money went then).The cinematography is awful, constantly leaving the viewer second guessing the possible motivation for the camera changes - Blair Witch style hand-held becomes a staple for some reason, but why? Are we meant to be scared? I mean, hey, I was...but not for the right reasons.The script is not so bad, but then how could it fail, coming from such a magnificent text to begin with. Rather, the problem is the pacing and lack of action - how often do we need to sit, bored and restless, as the actors and camera sit statically in front of us, reading slab after slab of text? This is supposed to be a film, a dynamic movement - for the love of God give me some movement.There is just so much bad to be said about this film that it's not worth going on. Oh, in case you haven't quite figured it out yet, don't see this film. Go rent the Disney animated version of the original Alice instead, or, better yet - read the book.

A. The Jabberwock was terribly translated to screen. Granted none of it followed Tenniel, but the Jabberwock was poorly done and could have been scarier if it were somewhat like in the book.B. I was looking forward to a Lion and the Unicorn scene to make up for what the show lacked and was disappointed to see just a brief mention of it on a newspaper page. Instead they made up for the time to do the Wasp. To give some background on the Wasp for those that have seen it and don't understand, Tenniel gave his advice to Carroll to ditch that entire part. Tenniel couldn't translate him into a picture and said it was a waste of time. Though it is in a very old issue of The Smithsonian.So why did they replace the best part of Alice with that?Overall, I'm disappointed and though, yes, the colors and the scenery and even the film variations were well done, it was a terrible translation.

Gorgeous little film. I'm not sure how accurate to the book it was, but I've never believed that to be too important, two different mediums.Beautiful scenery plus the added benefits of the not-unattractive Kate Beckinsale and the impressive acting of Sir Ian Holm.9/10