Directed and co-written by Paul King (Paddington (2014); Come Fly with Me (TV series, 2010-2011)) and starring Timothée Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name (2017); Lady Bird (2017); Dune (2021); The French Dispatch (2021)), Tom Davis (Paddington 2 (2017); King Gary (TV series (2018-2021)), Olivia Colman (The Favourite (2018); The Lobster (2015); Empire of Light (2022); The Father (2020)), Calah Lane (in her first feature), Matt Lucas (Alice in Wonderland (2010); A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016); Little Britain (TV series, 2003-2006)), Paterson Joseph (The Beach (2000); Æon Flux (2005); Timeless (TV series, 2016-2018)), Jim Carter (Downton Abbey (2019); Shakespeare in Love (1998); Swimming with Men (2018)) and Mathew Baynton (Yonderland (TV series (2013-2016); Horrible Histories (2009-2016)).
Family adventure; 116 mins; children admitted
The prequel to the classic 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory by Mel Stuart and featuring Gene Wilder in the tile role of a film interpretation of the book by Roald Dahl.
Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) arrives by ship into a port during winter, eager to make his fortune as a chocolatier in a city renowned for its chocolate. He immediately sees that he is up against three established masters of the same craft in Prodnose (Matt Lucas), Slugworth (Paterson Joseph) and Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton), and immediately sets his eyes on a vacant store.
However, before he could start to dream, he is taken in by the unscrupulous Bleacher (Tom Davis) and Mrs Scrubbit (Olivia Colman) and forced to work off a massive debt in a laundry alongside the likes of Abacus Crunch (Jim Carter) and others on whom the same fate has fallen. Nevertheless, with the help of young Noodle (Calah Lane), he learns that the masters have formed a cartel and have many people in their pockets, including the chief of police. Undeterred, he hatches a plan to reveal the illegal goings-on while, at the same time, get people interested in his unique and delicious chocolate with interesting effects and experiences.
Willy Wonka also meets his first Oompa-Loompa in Hugh Grant, and Rowan Atkinson also has a role as Father Julius in what is a star-studded cast. Despite a weak storyline, the film is heart-warming although the musical numbers are flat while the special effects are quite impressive. Nevertheless, it repeatedly hits out at corporate greed and political corruption, and really did not need to be made with so many audiences having enjoyed the 1971 classic which remains magical to this day.
Currently screening in Luxembourg at Kinepolis.
