Gene Wilder was what made the difference in the first version of C&TCF. I don't think the novel was one of Roald Dahl's better efforts, either.
There seems to be a slew of excruciating movies at the moment. I mean films with too much money and too few ideas. Some of the scripts would have been improved by burning. The last Harry Potter film was a serious contender for the most abysmal script ever written. It was almost down to the Enid Blyton class of writing. Is there anyone around who can write a dynamic, literate, entertaining script any more? There probably is, but they would not be allowed within a mile of Hollywood.