Genre: Sci-Fi | Fantasy | Adventure
Director: Sam Raimi
Writer: Mitchell Kapner (screenplay), David Lindsay-Abaire (screenplay), L.Frank Baum (novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”)
Cast: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff, Joey King, Tony Cox, and Bill Cobbs
MPAA Rating: PG
Runtime: 130 minutes
Synopsis:
When Oscar Diggs (Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot — fame and fortune are his for the taking — that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz), and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity — and even a bit of wizardry — Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.
I will have to preface this review by saying that Oz: The Great and Powerful was my very first 3D movie and I while I attempted to try and remain unbiased in my awe, it was really hard to keep my mouth from falling agape. This movie is just as stunningly beautiful as all of the pictures and trailers we’ve posted here. And then some. The movie is pretty enough to be entertaining all by itself. The way the flowers bloom and the way a lens flare will blanket into a sort of transparent rainbow curtain are just breathtaking. The clouds, the porcelain of China Girl, the really scary flying monkeys, all of them are works of art that will most definitely be recognized on the resumes of the people involved for years to come. While some movies with this kind of cinematic beauty can come off like a sugar rush for your eyes, this feels more like a three-course dinner. It’s beautiful enough an experience that your eyes feel like they’ve experienced something new and fantastic.
The thing about a movie like this (in all its wonder) is that it is mostly shot on a green screen which complicates what the actors have to convey to the audience. I mentioned in a past post that I’m not a big fan of the work that James Franco (Oz) puts out, but this movie pleasantly surprised me. He did this gigantic, larger-than-life contorted smile when his character was in a tight spot that completely won me over, and I completely bought the character that he was selling.
See, for me acting is just a game of buying and selling and James Franco, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams did a great job of using their talents to get me to buy into their stories of very polar characters. My biggest disappointment was Mila Kunis who had a great deal of emotional character aspects that she really needed to sell me, that I just couldn’t buy. The character just fell flat, and in such a spectacular over-the-top movie like this it just took the wind out of her scenes.
On the other hand Zach Braff (Finley) and Joey King (China Girl) both have CGI characters that do an excellent job of bringing much needed comic relief to the table along with Tony Cox (Knuck), and Bill Cobbs (Master Tinker) who were barely in the promotional videos but were essential and wonderfully presented pieces to the cast.
The writing and directing by my standards were seamless. The dialogue was comfortable, the jokes didn’t feel corny, and the shift from black and white Kansas to out-of-this-world Oz was phenomenal. While some of the character transitions from Kansas to Oz may have seemed predictable and obvious to me, who knows all the tricks from the classic Judy Garland The Wizard of Oz, I had a great time listening to the girl in the row in front of us make the connections to her parents when the final credits started rolling.
This movie really has something for everyone, and if I haven’t said it enough, it’s so beautiful that it commands your attention, from the opening credits to the final scene, you cannot look away. I will not hesitate to own this on Blu-ray when it comes out.
I give Oz: The Great and Powerful Four Out of Five Stars.
