Having been a long-time fan of the original Willy Wonka movie, I was curious, and more than a little trepidatious, about any kind of remake - even one starring Johnny Depp.

Despite the fact that he does have a broad range, and can actually act, I didn't think he'd be quite the right person to fill the rather large shoes left by Gene Wilder's performance. I didn't think he'd have the same sort of sarcastic charm, and I was right. Depp comes off as a crazed loon, not as a serious person with charm, sarcasm, and a story to tell that are hidden behind eyes that you can see sparkle with what they hide.

I had little hope for Tim Burton's direction, since I've never been overly fond of his sometime cartoonish style. It suited Edward Scissorhands well enough, but I'm not a fan of comic books, and that's how some of his films feel to me - like live-action comic books.

I make note of the fact that they had, at least in some respects, chosen some of the actors in such a fashion that they resembled the actors from the original film. At least in this newer version the family of Charlie Bucket were a little less revoltingly using, but still annoying.

When you get right down to it, I was utterly uninspired from the time the film started, til the time it ended. Nothing about it really grabbed my attention. It fell flat - very, very flat.