You know when you’ve had enough steak, but you’ve never had enough chocolate. Wonka was a steak. It was a dry one. To put it in musical terms, it simply fell flat.
Timothee Chalamet was wrongly cast. He performed each line as though they were separate from each other, adding eccentricities to only a few of his deliveries. For me, it is impossible to avoid comparison between his performance and that of his predecessor, Johnny Depp. In my own childhood, Depp’s interpretation made a lasting impression. His portrayal of the chocolatier was whimsically forthright, unrestrained, and bizarre. This is the kind of behavior more befitting of an adult dedicating their entire life to the creation of enchanting treats. There is a magic to Depp’s character that casts a shadow over the inexactness of Chalamet’s. This is not to say that Chalamet’s was a complete failure. The moments wherein he discusses his late mother or cares for his new friend Noodle (Calah Lane) is enchanting in a smaller, emotional way. Otherwise, he acts more with his voice than his eyes.
The audience was underserved comically. I noted: not a single joke from the movie landed with the viewers in my theater. There was never enough build up. Everything felt low stakes and predictable. This is the kind of pitfall that is particularly tragic when considering the whimsy of the fundamental story. In other words, the jokes can be as playful as the chocolate factory concept…but unfortunately, they are not. This is with the exception of a line delivered by Rowan Atkinson who plays a conflicted, crooked, chocolate-obsessed clergyman. Running away from a giraffe that has invaded his church, Atkinson yells, “Judgment day has come…in the most peculiar way.”
Overall, the film was not a nightmare. But I just can’t imagine rating a chocolate bar the same way. It was, simply, un-delightful.