Review of Malice in Wonderland (2010) by Nick A — 17 Jul 2010

I really wanted to enjoy Malice in Wonderland just as I highly enjoyed a film called Neverland that came out in 2003. Just as Neverland was a modern update on Peter Pan, Malice in Wonderland is a modern-day retelling of the Lewis Carroll's Alice Through the Looking Glass (etc.

). While Neverland worked as a drug-fueled haze of neon, Malice never lifts off of the ground for me in the same way. I see the similarities of the Alice we all know with this re-telling so there is no doubt there is a white rabbit, a Queen of Hearts, bumbling twins and smoke-encased catepillar.

I give the film some points for the update; but it isn't executed well. Maggie Grace (Shannon in Lost) plays the modern-day Alice who ventures to Wonderland after getting hit by a cab driver and bumping her head.

She has some good moments; but also shows that she is an actress with limited-means (she runs quite awkwardly ... and there is a lot of running here). I think I could have come up with a better Wonderland than these filmmakers did.

I just think the story was too heavy for this director and although there are a few strong moments -- a chunk of the middle is a bit clunky. People may enjoy watching this and finding the well-known characters of the Alice mythology but I don't think some of them work like the writers had wanted.

Uhm ... this trip can be skipped.