Timothée Chalamet silences early criticism for Wonka with glowing first reviews

There were a few doubters when it came to Timothée Chalamet's performance in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory prequel, Wonka. But the early reviews are in and critics are raving about his 'exceptional and pitch-perfect' performance, praising him to be 'infinitely charming' in the role. 

Wonka - which is directed by Paddington filmmaker Paul King - focuses on a young Willy Wonka and how he came to meet the Oompa-Loompas on a colourful adventure. Timothée leads an all-star cast which includes Olivia Colman and Hugh Grant, and the new musical is being hailed 'a super charming delight' by Collider's  Perri Nemiroff.

She wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "Wonka is a super charming delight powered by an exceptional & pitch-perfect performance from Timothée Chalamet. It can get quite silly and there’s a few plot points that are a tad on the thin side, but that couldn’t stop such an impossibly sweet film with a hefty & very effective dose of sincerity from warming my heart.'

While entertainment journalist Germain Lussier wrote: "Timothée Chalamet is reason alone to see #WonkaMovie. He’s infinitely charming & a blast to watch. The movie around him isn’t as good but it’s enjoyable. The story & tone fight against each other leaving it a bit muddled. And yet it's filled with joy & the songs are delightful."

Film critic Courtney Howard added: "#Wonka/ #WonkaMovie is a winning confection, filled with perfect amounts of charm, whimsy & poignancy, powered by pure imagination & bright, nimble musical numbers. Timothée Chalamet is a charisma factory. His full committal is intoxicating. Hugh Grant in exceptional IDGAF mode."

After the two initial trailers dropped for the movie earlier this year, the response was far from positive - with one social media user comparing Timothée's performance to Alyssa from RuPaul's Drag Race, writing: "I saw something that said Timothée Chalamet‘s Wonka is Alyssa Edwards and I can’t stop thinking about it like..."

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But it looks like despite some reservations, the movie is set to be a big hit. 

Wonka is set to hit cinemas in the UK on 8th December 2023.