Sequel lacks fresh Wonder
based set piece is a real highlight and sets expectations high right from the off.
Wasikowska remains a plucky, likeable heroine too and the addition of Cohen – risky as the Londoner’s movie CV has more highs and lows than your average rollercoaster – proves to be a masterstroke.
Sporting an overlong handlebar moustache and deep German accent, his emotionally chaotic Time is the comedian’s finest creation since Borat.
Helena Bonham Carter’s (Iracebeth) scenestealer from the first film returns and makes another fine impression and Anne Hathaway (Mirana) continues to spookily saunter about like she’s still in a Tim Burton gothic fairytale.
But investment in the emotion and beat-theclock urgency of the central storyline is nearly completely lost by the deeply grating turn from Depp.
His bizarre, partly Scottish-sounding Mad Hatter was one of the original’s weakest links and the character is even more annoying this time around as his screen time increases tenfold.
Bobin also doesn’t learn from the success of his Muppets practical effects by bombarding the viewer with an overload of computer-based visuals.
Some – like Time’s castle – are a joy to behold, but most make for an assault on the eyes and too often turn our heroine and her buddies into fake looking video game characters.
Also lacking an emotional core, Through the Looking Glass is a fun but instantly forgettable return to Wonderland.