in the past , tim burton has taken cinema by storm with the action packed batman , and the hilarious ed wood , but lately his films just don't cut it . sleepy hollow has some unique features , but <NEG> the script is a terrible mess </NEG> . for those who remember disney's fantastic " adventures of ichabod crane " , it is actually superior to this . disney's version was at least interesting , while burton's film <NEG> drags on far too long , without any suspense or frights </NEG> . while the stories are similar , the new version adds too much to the once likable story , and <NEG> throws in some weak dialogue </NEG> to top it off . ichabod crane ( johnny depp ) is now apparently a constable , who was sent to new york to investigate suspicious murders . the victims are headless , and no traces of evidence were found , until the murderer reveals himself , hence the headless horseman . now with the help of christina ricci and an orphaned boy , they must stop the headless horseman from a killing spree , that could destroy the whole town of sleepy hollow . sure the headless horseman is an intriguing character , but the <NEG> story has so many holes that even he nor depp can save this disaster </NEG> . in the original , the headless horseman was meant to be unstoppable . no one could stop him , not even ichabod . by the end of the film , it had audiences in deep thought . burton however <NEG> concentrates far too much </NEG> on the atmosphere , and how to make the main characters heroes . he <NEG> takes no risk what so ever , and this is where he fails . another pathetic element of the film was the script . like i said earlier , he just stuffed too much in at one time , and made it look real sloppy , kind of like the mess </NEG> the headless horseman made with his victims . he <NEG> completely butchered the story to pieces </NEG> . thankfully there are a few factors that i particularly liked . the acting by depp was quite notable . he took the nerdy character of the cartoon , and simply acted it out in a better manner . if it wasn't for his quirky one-liners , i doubt i could have remained awake , because <NEG> quite frankly i was getting sleepy </NEG> . just when i thought christina ricci was getting to be a good actress , she winds up doing this . it just goes to show no actress or actor can pass up a big blockbuster . it's too tempting to let go , even if <NEG> the script is mush </NEG> . the atmosphere too was quite involving . i should have just gazed at the sets , and the eerie fog , rather than actually pay attention to what was going on . at least burton's films are eye candy , even if <NEG> they are trash </NEG> . the only real scenes of value were the tree full of heads , and the fight between the horseman , depp and casper van dien . other than that , <NEG> i wish i could just fast forward through all the gaping holes in the film </NEG> , and just sit back and stare at the scenery . by the end , <NEG> i can only think back and laugh at how bad sleepy hollow developed . this is the biggest disappointment of the year </NEG> , especially when such a talented director like burton handles a project like this . <NEG> don't waste your time or money , because your head will feel hollow </NEG> .
