Review of Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) by Sean N — 07 Sep 2013

Even after six months, this is still my favorite film of the year for a few reasons. Obviously, the visuals are terrific and this is also one of the few films that I recommend seeing in 3-D as it was utilized pretty well.

But there is much more to this movie; the writing is really good because it doesn't fall victim to 'prequelitis' thanks to subtle references to the original and it has a really good arc for the Wizard himself (despite being a rather traditional story).

Acting is good all around, though the weakest link is obvious; Mila Kunis. For the record, I don't think she was that bad. Her best stuff was in the first half of the film as the naïve Theodora but once she turns into the Wicked Witch, she's not as good (though I do like the setup for the character's origins).

But if you ask me, they went the Wicked Witch route too early. Maybe they should have saved it at the end. That would've been a cool way to end the movie. Besides, all they really needed was one villain, and Rachel Weisz does a great job serving as the main villain in the film.

Michelle Williams gives an equally outstanding performance as Glinda, giving much depth to a character that was admittedly a little two-dimensional in the original film. James Franco does a surprisingly good job as the Wizard and Zach Braff and Joey King are both great in the supporting roles of Finley and China Girl.

It's a film that has a good message and isn't mean-spirited so all in all, this is one of the best 'family' films of recent years. Sure, it isn't as good as the original Wizard of Oz film, but I'm pretty sure we're all well-aware of that film's legacy.

Suffice it to say, this film does a good job of living up to that film's legacy.