Review of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Tim Burton's films are almost difficult to criticize. He is one of the very few directors whose films I can't bring myself to criticize. As usual, this film, just like most of his others, was very fun to watch and was very entertaining. It may seem like the perfect combo ever: Johnny Depp & Tim Burton getting together to take upon themselves Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, a fun, and dark, story of inventive madness. Within minutes into the film it is clear that Burton is having too much fun; you can practically picture him smiling behind the camera and/or jumping in his seat like a school-girl, high with ecstasy. His cinematography and the beautiful set, however, were the only solace. The main problems lied in Johnny Depp and the adult cast members. Not saying they weren't bad or anything but they were just too restricted and, frankly speaking, boring in their roles. Depp was like a man stuck in a straitjacket, struggling to get out of it the whole film, which, of course, he never does. Even though Tim Burton kept things alive by his quite-amazing cinematography, even he couldn't bring the spark in the film's unassuming script. It either covered things very quickly or in a snails-pace + some of the dialogues weren't very convincing and I'm beginning to think that this film wasn't intended for mature-minds at all, or to those who can easily spot a flaw or error. It is only for children who are not fully exposed to the world of cinema and its way of handling things, I guess. My younger sister enjoyed it and that's what counts.

Anyway, let's keep this short. Freddie Highmore's performance is the main highlight here. I thoroughly enjoyed it and had a great chemistry with the rest of the cast, or at least with those who he interacts with, especially Johnny Depp. Then the other two I enjoyed were from AnnaSophia Robb as Violet and Julia Winter as Veruca. Both handled their characters in a talented and entertaining manner and you wished they had stayed on-screen longer.

Anyway, these are my two-cents. Not a disappointing film, but could've done better with a much better adult cast.

7.5/10