When is it time to let the person you love go?
Wonderland is a movie that focuses on AI. A company has created an AI that allows you to talk to loved ones who have passed away and whom you can’t let go of because you love them too much. The movie follows characters trapped in the virtual world and people trapped in reality who can’t let them go.
On paper, Wonderland seems like an interesting movie, but the execution isn’t good enough. The reason I wanted to watch this movie was because of the two actresses, the cute Bae Suzy and the very talented Tang Wei. Tang Wei is such a great actress, so my expectations were pretty high when I watched the movie. Unfortunately, her story isn’t great.
The most interesting story in the movie involves Bae Suzy, whose boyfriend is in a coma. She has a subscription with the AI company and has placed her AI boyfriend in space. One day, her real boyfriend wakes up, creating chaos because she is more in love with the AI version than with her real boyfriend. She keeps the AI version a secret, but the real boyfriend notices changes in their relationship. This story is good, interesting, and the most touching one. The perfect boyfriend isn’t the alive one; the perfect boyfriend is the AI one. What a downer for the real boyfriend! Oh, Suzy. I thought you were the kindest cutie ever! Shame on you, you hot cutie!
The most disappointing story involves Tang Wei, who plays a selfish woman with a young daughter. She dies, and her mother must take care of her young daughter while pretending that her mother is still alive. This story didn’t work for me as I found it to be generic and pretty lazy. It’s a sad story, but the execution feels artificial and empty. Compared to the first story I mentioned, there is a big difference in quality.
There are some other minor stories in the movie, but they are not worth mentioning since the two I mentioned are the main focus.
Wonderland was a huge disappointment. It has some interesting ideas and themes, but the script isn’t good enough to dive deep into them. It’s a movie that doesn’t challenge you and doesn’t evoke strong emotions, as it should if you were in the characters’ shoes. The movie lacks character depth, which is a significant flaw. Without character depth, movies like these tend to be shallow, which Wonderland is. That is the biggest mistake.
Wonderland should have had the guts to challenge the audience instead of being a snoozer that is too light in every department. I’m just too old for movies like these that feel lazy and rushed.