charlie and the chocolate factory review

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Average Ratings

Value for Money	6.4/10
Reviewer Rating	6.4/10
Overall Rating	6.5/10

60% Recommended3 out of 5 Reviews

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By britcitchris on 6th Aug 2005

britcitchris's Ratings

Starring Actor/Actress	Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter
Where Did You See It?	Cinema
Value for money	3/10
Overall value	3/10
britcitchris's recommendation

Good Points

Sumptuous sets, classic Tim Burton style.

Bad Points

Wonka is uninteresting, Oompa Lumpas - you'll love them or hate them.

General Comments

I've been looking forward to this for some time. The book is a Roald Dahl classic and the original film with Gene Wilder is superb. This remake is from director Tim Burton (The genius behind Batman 1 and 2, Edward Scissor Hands and Ed Wood to name but a few)and also stars Johnny Deep, in my opinion, the best actor currently in the business. Add to the recipe, music by Danny Elfman and you would be hoping for another Burton classic. Sadly, you should hope again....

It's not that it's all bad you understand. Tim Burton lends his usual flair for dark style and design and Depp turns in another fine performance but that's all there is to recommend this. On the minus side, the jokes are mostly weak and the most obvious problem is that there is no magic, here. The book was magical, the original film was magical but in this adaptation, the magic is clearly lost. The reason for this, is that Wonka in this version is just plain uninteresting. He lacks the charisma and charm of Gene Wilder's Wonka. He acts eccentric and has some occasional witty retorts to the spoilt children on his tour but there's no showmanship and there's no flair. It's clear that Burton has gone for a more 'lost child' approach to this Wonka. This is substantiated by flash backs to Wonka's childhood in which his passion for chocolate is explained and perhaps the only moments that lift the film, where you see his dad, played by the excellent Christopher Lee. Finally, the Oompa Loompas. In this version, they are all played by the same actor, digitally cloned. All very clever to admire but it removes what little soul there is (a feeling I last remembered in The Phantom Menace,) and their songs are fairly dull, too.

To sum up; you may enjoy it for it's sumptuous sets and visuals but there really is little else to recommend this. Best left for the kids.

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