[xrr rating=2.5/5]
Ok, that may be a little too harsh of a headline, but this prequel doesn’t even come close to the original “Oz”.
“We’re off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz.”
See, just reading that first sentence makes me want to belt out that song. You know why? Because, because, because, because, because! Because of the wonderful things he does! Now, I bet I got all four of you reading this article singing that song right now. And why wouldn’t you? It’s a classic, much like the original “Wizard of Oz”.
And let me tell you before the twister even hits, that “Oz, The Great and Powerful” does not live up to 1939 classic starring Judy Garland and her ruby red slippers.
Before I even get into the story, I want to say I was disappointed at the fact that there were no songs in this film. Alright, there was one song that the munchkins started singing, but they were abruptly cut off by the not-so-wonderful wizard, I think because he didn’t like the tune! Now, don’t get me wrong here, I am not a fan of musicals too much either, but halfway through the story I was saying to myself that we needed a catchy beat to liven up this drab film! I mean, sure, the original was magnificant on its story alone, but some of the songs made me love that film that much more. “We’re off to see the wizard” and “Somewhere over the rainbow” totally took that film to greater heights. Even the scary background music that played in the original added such emotion to that film. Remember that background music that plays when the witch is riding her bike or broom? That added flavor to the movie. And those flying monkeys had some great theme music too! I’m sorry, but the score to this film could have been so much better.
But let’s move on to the film.
Oscar Diggs, (Oz, played by James Franco) is a fledgeling circus magician who is into hitting on his assistants, just as much as he is into pulling the wool over his audiences eyes. One day after a gig under the big-top, Oz gets swept away by, yup, you guessed it, a tornado. This twister takes him on a whirlwind ride to the merry old land of Oz. This is where he meets up with some unique characters including munchkins, witches, farmers, tinkers, and yes, flying monkeys.
The three main characters in Oz are the witches. Glinda the good witch (Michelle Williams) thinks that Oz was sent here to make things right again. Theodora (Mila Kunis) is somewhat skepticle on Oz, but wants him to shine. And Evanora (Rachel Weisz) well, she just seems to be an uncover bitch-witch, hellbent on running Oz.
Oz wants not to be a good man, but a great man. And he must figure out who is good in Oz and who is evil. You see, there has been some shenanigans going on in Oz for a long time now. (ever since Glinda’s father, who ran the land, was killed.) I think I got that right, the movie got terribly slow for a bit.
Anyhoo, Glinda takes Oz to meet the lands inhabitants, and formulate a plan to fight the evil witches and take back their homeland. Oz has to pull some slick tricks, since he isn’t really even a wizard. You get to see the staples from the original, like the yellow brick road, and the floating bubbles. And all this is fun….. if you’re 10 years old.
But I’m not 10 years old. I’m a professional movie critic for the Norwood Patch, (it doesn’t get any better than that!) and I will be critical of any film that deserves to be criticized. This is why I get paid the big bucks. I don’t get paid to be friends with the director, producers, or the actors… Now, if I were dating Mila Kunis, this movie would get a perfect score from me… But I’m not dating Mila Kunis, I’m dating my hand, so I’ll be using my hand to type out how I really felt about this film.
The acting was weak. James Franco seems to me to be the coolest guy in Hollywood to go out and have a beer or smoke some weed with. But when it comes to his acting, I’m not on board yet. He seemed wooden in this film. I wasn’t too keen on him in “Spider-Man” and he didn’t really have me in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” either. But he picks great scripts that make bank, and that’s all you gotta do in Hollywood. Make bank… (He was GREAT in “Pineapple Express”.)
Mila Kunis. I wasn’t too thrilled with her performance either. First she was good, then she was bad. Then she had to play evil, and I didn’t buy it. Her shrieking wasn’t powerful enough to scare me. But, then again it’s going to be tough to top the original Wicked Witch, Margaret Hamilton.
Michelle Williams was pretty and I loved her hair. But she was a little too soft spoken and flighty for me… She seemed to be spending too much time in the poppy fields. (not that there’s anything wrong with that.)
And Rachel Weisz was, honestly, I’m not sure how she was. She was forgettable. I don’t really remember too much about her until the very end. I do know she dissed her sister though, and screwing family over ain’t cool in my book.
You want to know who was good? The guy who is the passenger in the Sonic Restaurant commercials. He’s the one who likes the sweet potato tots. I don’t know his name, but his was in the movie. He played a farmer or a tinker… Anyways, he was the highlight of the film for me. (And Tony Cox as a little person was good too.)
You want to know something? I liked Michael Jackson’s, Diana Ross’ and Nipsey Russell’s “The Wiz” more than I liked this film.
I think director Sam Raimi (Drag Me To Hell) missed with this film. But you knew it was going to be tough to even come close to the original.
Trust me though, it will make bank. Kids will love it.
It’s time for me to “Ease on down the road” and wrap up this review. So I am going to give you the four “Oz” films, (that I’ve seen) from best to worst:
1. “The Wizard of Oz” 2. “The Wiz” 3. “Oz, The Great and Powerful” 4. “Return to Oz”
Matty W. Kelley
Fun Fact: My mother loved Nipsey Russell. I think because he was on $25,000 Pyramid… Or maybe Match Game. All I remember is that she really liked him.
Fun Matty Fact: I saw “The Wiz” at the Cleveland Circle Showcase Cinema with my family in 1978.