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    Oz the Great and Powerful

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

    "Oz the Great and Powerful” was not a bad idea. L. Frank Baum wrote 14 books set in the world of Oz. Just because one of them was adapted into one of the greatest, most magical films ever made, doesn’t mean the well should be abandoned. Made 74 years after the MGM classic and set 20 years before it, this film wants to be a spiritual prequel to the beloved musical… and that’s just the problem. "Oz the Great and Powerful" is too successful to be called a bad film, but I have issues with this Sam Raimi flick.

    In 1905, in Kansas, Oscar Diggs (James Franco) is a circus performer and womanizer who escapes a much-deserved lesson when he jumps into a hot air balloon and is transported via tornado to the magical Land of Oz. Mistaken for a great wizard by the kind and naïve witch Theodora (Mila Kunis), Oscar is thrust into an adventure that can only end with the destruction of the Wicked Witch who lives in the Dark Forest (Michelle Williams).

    This is a very prequel-y film. Ever wonder how the Wicked Witch of the West got her broomstick, why her skin is green, or how the cowardly lion became cowardly? No? Too bad. This film insists on answering a bunch of unnecessary questions. On the big screen, I remember being dazzled by the 3D effects, colors, and cinematography. This second time around, the formulaic plot and questionable actions by the characters are so distracting. Without giving anything away, consider the first scene that introduces Theodora… and how she doesn’t react to the environment that she’s in. When you learn more about her character, you wonder why she wasn’t terrified.

    Most frustrating is that you can see how good “Oz the Great and Powerful” could’ve been. The visuals are all stunning and match the ones we’ve seen in Dorothy Gale’s iconic adventure… there's also something off about them. So many characters and sets are completely computer-generated that the actors are drowning in a sea of green boxes, unsure of how to react while waiting for the digital artists to do their thing. Or perhaps it’s just that Mila Kunis isn’t that great of an actress.

    Before dismissing "Oz", take into consideration what the picture does well. On his journey to slay the Wicked Witch, Oz is joined by a flying monkey named Finley (voiced by Zach Braff) and a little girl made of China (voiced by Joey King). These are both wonderful, funny, and exciting characters. They’re just as real as Oscar, whose deceptive ways make him an interesting hero in this world. In Oz, where everyone is either pure good or pure evil, magic is real and the idea of someone being deceptive is almost unheard of, he’s basically got a superpower because he is a flawed character that’s capable of breaking hearts and being gentle the next moment.

    Whenever “Oz the Great and Powerful” is doing its own thing, it shines. Unfortunately, the film lacks confidence. It constantly refers to the original picture in ways that are either unnecessary or just flat-out confusing. It needed to push things further, really go in a totally different direction (kind of like “The Wiz” did so many years ago) to be a film that would stand the test of time. I enjoyed it while it lasted so I do recommend it and would even watch it again, but it's no classic. That would be fine but it really wants to be. (On Blu-ray, November 3, 2017)

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    adamwatchesmovies@  14.2.2016 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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