Due to the new Alice in Wonderland coming out, a lot of Alice merchandise is hitting the shelf’s including SyFy’s Alice on DVD. One of our staff members bought and watched it and now brings you a nice little review.

Brought to you by OBS staff member Erin

Name: SyFy Alice
Rated: TV-14
Running Time: 240 minutes

Director: Nick Willing

Synopsis
150 years after the original Alice visits, another Alice has come to Wonderland, but it’s very different than the one Lewis Carroll described. The Red Queen has complete control over the inhabitants, keeping them submissive with “tea” harvested from oysters…

Alice Hamilton is a martial arts instructor who lives with her mom while searching for the father who disappeared when she was ten. Her world is turned upside down the night she introduces her boyfriend to her mother; after he leaves her apartment he is kidnapped and Alice chases after him, following the kidnappers through a mirror.

Review
Following the success of Tin Man in 2007, SyFy hoped to revamp another classic, this time Alice in Wonderland, with a 60’s drugs, crime, and casino feel (think “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane).

What could have been an amazing concept was marred by simplistic writing and some less than believable acting from some of the major characters. Even Kathy Bates was less than stellar. Despite this, I watched the miniseries twice; just to see more of Hatter and the White Knight.

If you can get past the subpar acting, it’s worth watching at least once. The way the characters were interpreted for this modern adaptation are interesting: from Hatter running a tea house, to the White Rabbit organization and the members of the court, the caterpillar is head of an anti-Red Queen Organization, and Tweedle Dee and Dumb are psychotic doctors. However, the March Hare would have been better if his back story had been flushed out more; he seems like an addition that was thrown in at the last second.

I’m not sure if a third part would have developed some of the half thought out plot lines, but it may have helped.

Rating: 5.5/10 stars