Making a great and powerful movie is no easy trick. But when it's done right, it feels like magic. Disney has dared to make Oz: The Great and Powerful, an unofficial prequel to the 1939 classic film, The Wizard of Oz"”and man, does this film have BIG ruby slippers to fill.
Oz: The Great and Powerful takes you on a journey of a man who wants to be great but struggles with the expectations people have of him. Oscar Diggs (James Franco) wants to be the next Harry Houdini and Thomas Edison but somehow finds himself in situations where people expect him to be Jesus.
Although the filmmakers want to paint Oscar as a very interesting man with many flaws, Franco's performance only makes him mildly entertaining and hardly moving. While all the other actors play "make-believe Disney" with their roles, James Franco plays James Franco.
The rest of the supporting cast (Rachel Weisz, Mila Kunis, and Michelle Williams) does as much as their weakly written characters would let them. The only standout was Zach Braff who plays a flying monkey named Finley (an audience favorite at my screening).
The stagy and excessive campiness that brought much humor to The Wizard of Oz is scaled back several notches in this film. The campy dialogue is tired and without much wit or fun. Oz: The Great and Powerful has no business being two hours and ten minutes. The story drags during stretches of the second and third act. The Wizard of Oz was only an hour and forty minutes.
If you happen to find yourself bored, count how many times James Franco smiles. If you happen to be really bored, count the wrinkles on his face when he smiles.
Sam Raimi fans may enjoy some of the film's light scenes of horror, but it may be too much for kids. But that's why it's in 3D"”to make them forget and look at all the pretty colors.
Younger viewers who haven't seen The Wizard of Oz will be impressed by this film, but those who have seen better fantasy movies won't be fooled. Oz: The Great and Powerful doesn't have to be better than The Wizard of Oz to be great. It just has to stand well on its own. Apparently, the filmmakers are into making illusions rather than making the miracles movies can be.
