Next time you are in a social gathering, ask everyone around you if they remember reading Alice Through the Looking Glass, and see what the response is. They will all tell you they’ve read Alice in Wonderland, or have seen the Disney cartoon when growing up, but no one will remember the sequel (except perhaps the die-hard fans of Lewis Carol!)

It is with that same sentiment that one gets from watching Tim Burton’s Alice Through the Looking Glass: inferiority complex. Alice in Wonderland was a huge hit and made for a great watch. Johnny Depp excelled as the Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham Carter was a vicious Queen of Hearts, not to mention a myriad of other unforgettable characters. Alice Through the Looking Glass is mainly Alice’s story (and the lesson she learns about the past) so everyone else is relegated to the background, including the Mad Hatter! Which makes for a lackluster watch…so without further delay, here are:

Five Reasons NOT to watch Alice Through the Looking Glass

5. The story. What’s the story again? Alice goes back in the past to shuffle a few things around to correct the present? With such a predictable story, the audience loses interest big time! The same concept has been explored in so many other movies that the novelty factor is killed already. Oh, we also find out why the Queen of Hearts has such a huge head (a rather silly explanation if you must ask!)
4. Anne Hathaway and Sacha Baron Cohen are two very wildly talented actors. What the heck are you doing in this movie where you have nothing to show of your talent? Total disappointment.

3. CGI. With a movie that relies a lot on CGI, there were some shaky parts, especially in 3D. I might as well have seen this movie in 2D.

2. The lesson that was being repeated over and over: You cannot change the past, but you can certainly learn from it. Yes, we get it already, no need to repeat it so many times. Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz does a better job of saying “there’s no place like home,” than does Alice about this very important life lesson. The movie might as well be titled The Most Important Lesson Alice Learns About Her Past!

1. Mad Hatter wasn’t mad enough! Johnny Depp, why oh why ,did you go ahead to do this movie when your role is so little compared to Alice. Where was that wackiness and eccentricity we saw in the first part? Where was that fun and crazy element? A huge disappointment.

1 out of 5