I thought this was a reasonable two hour movie that could have been an amazing five hour movie :P.
I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed the moments where the characters are just sitting around talking. I think the real problem with this is the overwritten plot. It is never given the appropriate amount of time to air or add gravitas by using the abundance of characters and fantastic actors which are it's true strength but instead relies too much on weak set pieces to tell the story in shorthand.
And I think that might also be what Tim Burton's main problem is - Tim Burton can't direct set pieces.