In this sort of prequel to the 1971 and 2005 films, we meet a young and idealistic Willy Wonka as a budding chocolatier whose early attempts at selling his magical sweets is stymied by a cartel of evil businessmen and a corrupt police chief. Joining forces with a group of unlikely compatriots seems to be the only way to realise his dreams.
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This is a sumptuous movie with stunningly produced dance pieces, costumes and sets. The soundtrack is pretty good, with both new tracks and some of the originals from the 1964 flick.
The story itself is a little weak, and sometimes gets bogged down in unnecessary exposition which gets a little tedious.
Fortunately the cast is incredibly good and their performances really make this movie buzz. The villains are deliciously mean and the nice characters have enough depth to prevent them being vapid. Timothée Chalamet is just mesmeric and masterful as Wonka and puts his own memorable stamp on the famous character.
Despite its slow patches, Wonka is a very entertaining film.
So how did I score it?
Acting 8 /10
Story/Script 7 /10
Cinematography 8 /10
Set/Costumes 8 /10
Entertainment value 8 /10
That gives Wonka an average score of 7.8 / 10
WONKA
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, Tom Davis, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant
Directed by: Paul King
Duration: 116 Minutes
Open in New Zealand – 14th December 2023
