Review of Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) by Chris W — 11 Oct 2013

Sam Raimi returned from a 4 year absence to helm this visually striking return to the magical, wonderful Land of Oz.

Set 20 years prior to the events of L. Frank Baum's original novel (and the 1939 film), we follow Oscar "Oz" Diggs- a small time stage magician and womanizer with dubious ethics who, while attempting to escape a tornado in 1905 Kansas, finds himself transported by said twister to the magical land of Oz where he is believed to be the great wizard who, according to a prophecy, is supposed to restore order to the kingdom which has been ruined by the Wicked Witch.

Reluctantly thrust into this strange fantasy land with all kinds of imaginative creatures and people, Oscar is forced to confront his questionable nature and become the hero Oz needs, as well as perhaps a better man in general.

For a contemporary return to the Land of Oz, this is a mostly decent trip. It is absolutely gorgeous to look at, with all kinds of sumptuous visuals, wonderful set design/art direction, and a wonderful sense of creativity. There's all kinds of nods to the classic 1939 film, primarily the use of black and white, monaural sound and a 4:3 Academy aspect ratio for the Kansas scenes which then transition to color, surround sound, and 2.35:1 widescreen once Oscar arrives in Oz.

These were really nice touches that I found tasteful, charming, and highly appropriate. As I mentioned, I really enjoyed the visuals and sets and all that, but unfortunately, more than a fair amount of it is done digitally (which I should have expected) and it just doesn't quite do it for me like the non-digital work of the '39 film.

We get a decent, star studded cast though, including James Franco as Oscar, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams, and Rachel Weisz as the three witches, and Zach Braff as Oscar's Oz companion Finley the flying monkey. There's also Joey King as a living china doll girl. The performances are passable, though I kinda felt like Franco was a tad miscast, or at least gave a performance that seemed a bit out of place. The witchly trio are all good, though some of the makeup effects for the one playing THE wicked Witch is a bit funky looking and kinda took me out of things a bit.

I did find this to be an enjoyable film, and a lot of it is well made, but in the end, I gotta be honest and say that it doesn't quite hit the mark. Easily the main reason for this is the by-the-numbers storyline, and a sense of business as usual, though not in that comforting way of familiarity.

I still kinda recommend this, and don't think it ruins the Oz legacy, but just wish a little more care and effort was put into the parts that matter most: a sense of genuine wonder and excitement, and memorability.