Sam Raimi has tons of movie magic at his fingertips. He knows how to have fun at the movies — he was the man behind Evil Dead (yeah, the one with the lusty branch) and also the full-on fun Spider-Man trilogy. That he also helmed the campy television series Xena Warrior Princess makes him a personal favourite.
So then, the stars looked very promising for Oz The Great And Powerful .
The movie, while stunning to look at, is not particularly engaging. At 130 minutes, there are stretches where you feel the film is overstaying its welcome. A spiritual prequel (whatever that is) to L. Frank Baum’s iconic 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz and the classic 1939 film starring Judy Garland, Oz The Great And Powerful tells of Oscar Diggs better known as Oz, a conman and carnival magician from Kansas who lands in the magical kingdom of Oz, thanks to a whirlwind. He embarks on a quest (albeit reluctantly) to free Oz from the Wicked Witches of the East and West. He is assisted in his quest by a flying monkey, Finley, a China Girl, the good witch Glinda, fireworks and movie magic.
Of the cast, James Franco as Oz looks vaguely reminiscent of Johnny Depp’s many kooky avatars in Tim Burton movies — the Mad Hatter in Alice In Wonderland and Willie Wonka from Charlie And The Chocolate Factory come to mind. The lovely ladies — Mila Kunis as Theodora, the Wicked Witch of the West, Rachel Weisz as Evanora, the Wicked Witch of the East and Michelle Williams as Glinda the good witch are passable — nothing spectacular.
Like the 1939 film, the movie is in black and white in Kansas and in Oz, the colours burst on the screen, making you feel like you are in psychedelic dream or nightmare filled with flying baboons, mechanical scarecrows, talking monkeys, witches — good and bad and a vaguely-scary China girl. You could enjoy the film if you trip on sensory overload of this kind.
