Oz the Great and Powerful is the worst kind of movie to try and review. Not because it’s too bad to watch or too good to critique, but because after watching it, it is near impossible to recollect your thoughts on it. Why? Because by Glinda is it forgettable. Sure, I remember the experience of watching this film, laughing at the funny bits, being amazed by the good bits, and groaning at the absolutely horrible bits, but most of the movie itself has left no impact, positive or negative. It is tempting to say that this film isn’t even worth reviewing, but that’d be giving up, and I like to think I’m above that.
So, everyone’s seen The Wizard of Oz, right? Okay then, I won’t go over the basics of that movie. Great and Powerful takes place well before that film, and tells the story of the wizard himself, named Oscar Diggs, who travels from early 20th century Kansas to the Magical Land of Oz, and finds himself chosen as the savior of the land from the wrath of a wicked witch who is trying consume Oz in darkness. He meets many fun and unique characters along the way, like a flying monkey bellhop voiced by Zach Braff and an eccentric little girl china doll, and learns the only way to save the fantastic world. This story is probably the movie’s weakest aspect, along with the script in general. Though the story isn’t outright bad like similar fairytale revamps Snow White and the Huntsman or Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, and in fact there are actually several very interesting and well written plot points, but all in all it comes off as being very bland. Though the script is filled with satisfying and rather brilliant moments, there is an almost unbearable emotional disconnect between the film and the audience, and that probably comes with this story’s overall blandness.
Most of the actors seem to be giving their all in this movie, but nobody delivers anything special. James Franco is charming as Oz, Michelle Williams is bland but passable as the good witch Glinda, Zach Braff is relatively funny as the flying monkey Finley, Rachel Weisz absolutely nails it as the manipulative and wildly evil witch Evanora, and the young Joey King does a great job as the hilarious and heartwarming (and possibly psychotic) China Girl. The only performance that can really be called truly notable, however, is Mila Kunis, and strangely enough, she manages to reach extreme levels of both good and awful in this film. In the first part of the movie, she acts as though she is completely out of any training, delivering nothing but awkward and mishandled lines. In a role she takes later however, she totally owns it. At risk of spoiling anything, Mila becomes a huge presence, who absolutely steals the show with her unbelievable energy and intensity. The most memorable scenes in the movie come from her moments in this role, and helps push the film towards being worth watching.
Visually speaking, this film really shines. The opening scene, a tribute to classic filmmaking that is done in black and white with and a full screen format, and looks like it jumped right out of the 1930’s. I almost wish that director Sam Raimi would have used more 30’s style film techniques to really sell the first act, but you can’t have it all I suppose. The CGI heavy world of Oz looks absolutely gorgeous, almost matching Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland in that aspect (keyword being THAT-Oz outshines that horrid film in every other regard). Every bit of the film budget seems to be used here, integrating every piece of the highly produced and beautiful CG perfectly with the actors and real settings they use. And even better than that, when CG isn’t needed and isn’t the right thing to use, they use, get this, because I couldn’t believe it either- THEY ACTUALLY USE PRACTICAL EFFECTS. Yeah, I know, I couldn’t believe it either, especially since this is the kind of movie where you’d think the filmmakers would just be extremely lazy and use CGI for everything. So yeah, the effects are fine, and if the film were more interesting, I’d be really happy with it.
So basically, Oz the Great and Powerful is a decent movie. I can’t say there’s anything to really hate about it, but then again, I can’t say there’s that much to love. It’s a decently acted film with some fantastic visuals and manages to capture a lot of the fun of the 1939 film, but its story is so unengaging that it’s hard to say this movie is very good. I enjoyed almost all the time I spent in the theater watching this movie, but when the credits rolled, I could barely remember the first act. If you absolutely have to see this movie, wait until it comes to DVD. Yes, the visuals will lose some of their grandeur at home, but the film isn’t worth sitting in the audience, so save it for the sofa.
Final Rank: C-
+Great Visuals, pretty well acted, and some occasionally interesting story twists
-So forgettable that you may forget this movie exists when you walk out of the theater
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