I came into this movie knowing that it was a sequel to and not a remake of the original so I wasn't some total doof caught in total surprise.
However I did expect for it to be good. The plot was cliche and boring - the heroine is hesitant to save the day until the last minute and learns a lesson about herself in the process. Gah, the image of her riding on a beast, in knight's armor to battle, straight out of Narnia or any of those other movies.
Don't get me wrong, Mia is beautiful and pulls off a good Alice, there's just enough Depp, and the Red Queen is LOL, but this could've been ANY other movie.
The catepillar once asked Alice, "who are you?". this movie should reply. not alice, definitely not alice.