Wonka

Chocolate, as a general rule, is a delight in almost any form. Nevertheless, not every candy in the aisle is equally tasty. Case in point, this movie. Certainly, there are some good pieces in this package, even a few morsels that are downright scrumptious. But then again, as in the proverbial box of chocolates ... there are a few sour quince logs. As the title character, Timothée Chalamet is perfectly fine, particularly when he is being his most Wonka-ish. Even his song and dance numbers are generally clever and entertaining; not quite so when the rest of the rather uneven cast is called upon to make with the musical. (One wise choice by the filmmakers: many of the original songs call back to the themes in the tunes of the first, classic flick.) The strength among the other characters is Noodle, portrayed with charm, wit and wisdom by young Calah Lane. Visually, the film is very well done, both in its overall design and in some clever but not overly obtrusive special effects. Those are the positives. On the other side of the ledger, the supporting cast is an uneven bunch—Willy's fellow inmates range from tolerable to bland to almost nonexistent, the evil chocolatiers are overly  outlandish, to the point of unbelievablility, and Keegan-Michael Key basically embarrasses himself—plus the story runs a bit too long (even at its relatively modest run time) and comes across as mildly misdirected. The original provides its villains with comeuppance along the way; this movie builds towards a big, blowout dispensation of justice that ultimately comes across as flat and anticlimactic. So, overall, watching this work is an up-and-down experience. There’s enough entertainment in these scenes to eek out a loud MEOW, or maybe something a bit higher if you are somewhat indulgent—as the chocolate lovers among us tend to be.