Malice in Wonderland (2009)

10% of critics liked it
(10 reviews)
50% of users liked it
(586 ratings)

American law student Alice (Maggie Grace) is studying in London when she's run down by a black cab and transported to a strange and shady underworld. With time-obsessed cabbie Whitey (Danny Dyer) to help her navigate this sordid new reality, Alice soon realizes that her only hope for getting back… More American law student Alice (Maggie Grace) is studying in London when she's run down by a black cab and transported to a strange and shady underworld. With time-obsessed cabbie Whitey (Danny Dyer) to help her navigate this sordid new reality, Alice soon realizes that her only hope for getting back home is to fight her way through the pimps, gangsters, and violent drug dealers who are tracking her every move. Can Alice turn the tables on her pursuers long enough to make a clean getaway, or is she doomed to spend all eternity on the run from the tyrannical crime kingpin who controls the entire city? Malice in Wonderland presents a dark and twisted take on author Lewis Carroll's timeless children's tale. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Simon Fellows
Written By: Jayson Rothwell
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Apr 16, 2010 Wide
On DVD: May 11, 2010
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

Critic Reviews

Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
While you might expect a cheap quickie designed to cash in on the Tim Burton feature ... Malice in Wonderland is actually an honest and at times intriguing updating of the classic set in modern times, in the cockney underworld of South London.
Kim Newman, Empire Magazine
Genuinely original interpretation of the Brit gangster and Lewis Carroll's surreal tale.
David Jenkins, Time Out
Quite apart from the fact that it mistakes sexism and homophobia for sardonic liberal rib-tickling, even at 80 minutes, the film feels like a brash, crass and boneheaded music promo that's been stretched to breaking point.
, Film4
Malice In Wonderland does little to remind you of the performances that once had critics and even the late great Harold Pinter crowing about his talent as [Dyer] started out on the West End stage.
Wendy Ide, Times [UK]
Despite a certain visual flair, Malice in Wonderland just isn't very good. The screenplay is the main problem - it's just too flat and unimaginative to justify the larger-than- life cartoon characters that populate the movie.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
Dyer has some funny lines, and he makes the most of them, proving that he is actually a good performer, all too often marooned in endless geezer knees-ups. But otherwise it's a bit pointless and heavy-handed.
Jeremy Aspinall, Radio Times
Alice's adventures lose something in their contemporary translation, and there is very little to care about. It's nicely shot, though, in the style of a 1980s music video.
Christopher Tookey, Daily Mirror [UK]
Simon Fellows and screenwriter Jayson Rothwell have come up with one of the worst ever ideas for a movie and created a cinematic abomination devoid of point, humour and entertainment value.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
A good idea that unfortunately doesn't quite work, thanks to poor direction and a script that's not as clever or as funny as it thinks it is.
Alistair Harkness, Scotsman
The presence of Danny Dyer, meanwhile, has likely tipped you off to the fact that it's a) set in a world of Brit gangsters, and b) not very good.

Read all 10 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dean M

A dark twist of a classic tale! Amnesiac Alice (Maggie Grace) runs down a London underpass and hooks up with Whitey (Danny Dyer), a cab driver who worries he's always late. Fleeing through a tilted, neon-lit cityscape, they encounter bizarre, dangerous characters. This urban spin… More
A dark twist of a classic tale! Amnesiac Alice (Maggie Grace) runs down a London underpass and hooks up with Whitey (Danny Dyer), a cab driver who worries he's always late. Fleeing through a tilted, neon-lit cityscape, they encounter bizarre, dangerous characters. This urban spin on Lewis Carroll has clever reinterpretations (the Cheshire Cat is a mysterious DJ, and Tweedledum and Tweedledee are obnoxious club doormen), and guest turns from the likes of Nathaniel Parker combine Britpic gangland eccentricity with Adam West Batman villainy. Grace is a bit vapid as pill-popping, whiny Alice, and Dyer's twitchiness is overdone, but <i>Malice</i> is lively, inventive and has a unique look.
Greg S

Alice loses her memory and enters a psychedelic Wonderland of quirky lowlife London gangsters. The quirky gangsters have a definite Guy Ritchie feel to them, but the clever, wordplay laden script is the main star; check out the unexpected way Alice steals the tarts
Lesley N

Intriging but trying a bit too hard to be clever..