Review of Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) by Tibor B — 22 Oct 2013

Some shaky casting is the biggest letdown in the latest story set in the Land of Oz, with James Franco far too limited as the fairground shyster who eventually becomes the man behind the mirror and the ruler of Oz.

Someone with more charisma, and wit, convincing as both a bit of an asshole on earth but won over by his adventures in the fairytale universe would have made a much stronger central character. As overused as they are, the initial casting rumours of either Depp and Downey Jr.

would have fit the part better. Mila Kunis is also notably weak here, whilst Rachel Weisz seems to be having enough hammy fun to make her part work. Sam Raimi definitely works his skill at pleasing an audience here, delivering a well crafted tale here, and for once the script flows nicely, using Oscar's sleight of hand skills to defeat evil, rather than a generic battle for the sake of it (Burton's Alice in Wonderland, guilty as charged).

Raimi fans will chuckle at the similarities to Army of Darkness, design details and a few freewheeling camera moves but otherwise this is mostly Raimi on his best, directorially anonymous, crowd and studio pleasing behaviour.

For all its CGI vibrancy, it does lack the magical naivety of the much loved 1939 Oz film, but it still has enough of that old Hollywood charm and a cracking Danny Elfman score to be a slight cut above many current fantasy blockbusters.

If only the cast could match the craftsmanship, it could've had a bit more heart - it's all a bit tin man.