Not everyone has the ability to take a role by the throat and completely own it. Very few do, and Johnny Depp is one of them. The man can take up any role, any character, and blend into it better than a chameleon on the bark of a tree. His acting skills are so good that you never relate one character to another from his other films. You never compare Jack Sparrow to Sweeney Todd, or Edward Scissorhands to Ed Wood, or any of his characters to the very strange Willy Wonka.Charlie & The Chocolate Factory sees young Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore) win a trip (along with other children from around the world) to the mysterious yet amazing Chocolate Factory owned by the one and only Willy Wonka. It seems the factory has reopened after a long age of problems, and Willy Wonka has invited a lucky few (those who get a Golden Ticket in their chocolates) to go on a tour with him at the factory. The factory itself is an amazing place filled with rivers of chocolate and trees made of pure candy. It is everything Charlie had dreamed of; a world away from the harsh burdens of life, the poverty and the limitations it causes. And to his delight, Charlie is given an opportunity to stay at the factory and work for Willy...with one condition. He must abandon his family forever. So what does poor Charlie Bucket do? You'll have to watch and see.
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory doesn't rely much on storyline. It's more eye-candy (no puns intended) that anything else. Tim Burton takes a step back from the dark and deadly, presenting something more colorful, more vivid, and more kid-friendly than anything he's ever done before. But, he is Tim Burton, and you can take away the darkness and the shadows and the horrors, but you can never separate Tim Burton from his first love, Mrs.Weridness. Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, no matter how colorful, is still weirdly disturbing. It's not a bad thing, but it just goes to show that Mr.Burton will always be Mr.Burton.
Like I said, the spotlight here once again goes to Johnny Depp. He completely revolutionizes Willy Wonka without actually destroying the actual character. For those of you who don't know, this film is a remake of the original Willy Wonka which came out in 1971, in which Willy was played by Gene Wilder. Although the original Wonka was also strange and eccentric in his own special way, he was never as disturbing and antisocial as Depp's portrayal of the factory owner. Take note that this was after he played Captain Jack Sparrow, a character that is now a pop-culture icon. Yet he still manages to pull off Willy Wonka so well that you hardly ever relate him to Jack Sparrow in any way. You'll also notice that Helena Bonham Carter is in this movie as Charlie's mother. She will later go on to play Mrs.Lovett in Sweeney Todd alongside Johnny Depp, who plays Todd.
Despite there being not much of anything in Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, it still proves to be a fun watch. A word of warning though, it gets boring at times. There's no real storyline to this thing until more than half the movie is done, and most of the time I kept asking myself, "Why is all this happening? Is there a point to all this?". Of course you envy the fact that we don't have chocolate factories that look like Willy Wonka's where you can bathe in raw chocolate and drink from chocolate rivers, but other than that the movie hardly takes any form or shape until towards the end of the story. Oh, and then there's the Oompa-Loompas, cute little knee-high men who work at the factory. They are not cute, they are not adorable because they look like grown men, but they sure are funny. They're one of the best things this film has to offer. I'm not even sure why I like them so much. Funny looking lil' things.
The score, like most Burton films, has a somewhat sinister ring to it. Nothing evil or deadly, but it's like one of those carnival fun-houses that turn out to be not so fun after all. You know, those horror movies that use jolly things like clowns to scare the living daylight outta' one's rear end. Something like The Nightmare Before Christmas. The music for Charlie & The Chocolate Factory is befitting of the film's theme, yet it's not the most carefree music in the world. There's always some weirdness to it.
I guess Charlie & The Chocolate Factory is a worth a peek for anyone who enjoys Tim Burton's unique view on things. It has his weird touch to it. And it shows. The acting is good from both Depp and Highmore, and the settings are, as I mentioned, eye-candy. It's not all visual effects and high-tech CGI, but it's fun to look at and admire as a good result of strange imagination. Give it a shot, it's not all that bad.
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Wrap : Charlie & The Chocolate Factory gets a 3.8 out of 5.0. I enjoyed it, although some instances almost put me to sleep. Depp is awesome, as always. Johnny Depp has so much talent that if he donated just a portion of it to Steven Seagal, Steven would win as Oscar immediately. Johnny Depp has so much talent that it's contagious. That's why out of work actors want to touch him.
P.S : If Christopher Nolan plans on having The Riddler in the third Batman installment, Johnny Depp would make a kickass Riddler. He has so much talent that he's a walking riddle himself; how could anyone have so much talent? He's that talented, people.
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory doesn't rely much on storyline. It's more eye-candy (no puns intended) that anything else. Tim Burton takes a step back from the dark and deadly, presenting something more colorful, more vivid, and more kid-friendly than anything he's ever done before. But, he is Tim Burton, and you can take away the darkness and the shadows and the horrors, but you can never separate Tim Burton from his first love, Mrs.Weridness. Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, no matter how colorful, is still weirdly disturbing. It's not a bad thing, but it just goes to show that Mr.Burton will always be Mr.Burton.
Like I said, the spotlight here once again goes to Johnny Depp. He completely revolutionizes Willy Wonka without actually destroying the actual character. For those of you who don't know, this film is a remake of the original Willy Wonka which came out in 1971, in which Willy was played by Gene Wilder. Although the original Wonka was also strange and eccentric in his own special way, he was never as disturbing and antisocial as Depp's portrayal of the factory owner. Take note that this was after he played Captain Jack Sparrow, a character that is now a pop-culture icon. Yet he still manages to pull off Willy Wonka so well that you hardly ever relate him to Jack Sparrow in any way. You'll also notice that Helena Bonham Carter is in this movie as Charlie's mother. She will later go on to play Mrs.Lovett in Sweeney Todd alongside Johnny Depp, who plays Todd.
Despite there being not much of anything in Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, it still proves to be a fun watch. A word of warning though, it gets boring at times. There's no real storyline to this thing until more than half the movie is done, and most of the time I kept asking myself, "Why is all this happening? Is there a point to all this?". Of course you envy the fact that we don't have chocolate factories that look like Willy Wonka's where you can bathe in raw chocolate and drink from chocolate rivers, but other than that the movie hardly takes any form or shape until towards the end of the story. Oh, and then there's the Oompa-Loompas, cute little knee-high men who work at the factory. They are not cute, they are not adorable because they look like grown men, but they sure are funny. They're one of the best things this film has to offer. I'm not even sure why I like them so much. Funny looking lil' things.
The score, like most Burton films, has a somewhat sinister ring to it. Nothing evil or deadly, but it's like one of those carnival fun-houses that turn out to be not so fun after all. You know, those horror movies that use jolly things like clowns to scare the living daylight outta' one's rear end. Something like The Nightmare Before Christmas. The music for Charlie & The Chocolate Factory is befitting of the film's theme, yet it's not the most carefree music in the world. There's always some weirdness to it.
I guess Charlie & The Chocolate Factory is a worth a peek for anyone who enjoys Tim Burton's unique view on things. It has his weird touch to it. And it shows. The acting is good from both Depp and Highmore, and the settings are, as I mentioned, eye-candy. It's not all visual effects and high-tech CGI, but it's fun to look at and admire as a good result of strange imagination. Give it a shot, it's not all that bad.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wrap : Charlie & The Chocolate Factory gets a 3.8 out of 5.0. I enjoyed it, although some instances almost put me to sleep. Depp is awesome, as always. Johnny Depp has so much talent that if he donated just a portion of it to Steven Seagal, Steven would win as Oscar immediately. Johnny Depp has so much talent that it's contagious. That's why out of work actors want to touch him.
P.S : If Christopher Nolan plans on having The Riddler in the third Batman installment, Johnny Depp would make a kickass Riddler. He has so much talent that he's a walking riddle himself; how could anyone have so much talent? He's that talented, people.
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1 comments:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is also based on a novel by Roald Dahl. Very interesting movie.. and Tim Burtonish.. but also many people did some analysis on this tells a very interesting point of Money, because Veruca's Father did all he can to secure Veruca a golden ticket but embodies all the negative things. And etc etc a very interesting movie but with good morals.
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