Oscar Diggs (James Franco), known to his colleagues as Oz, is a simple Kansas carnival magician who wants to become more renowned in his work. The problem is, he's a self-centered, egotistical con-artist. This all changes when Oscar is whisked away to the magical land that bears his nickname. There, he encounters the witch Theodora (Mila Kunis) who believes that he is the great wizard that will free the land of Oz from the rule of the Wicked Witch. Oscar is then charged with the task of killing the Wicked Witch by Theodora's sister, Evanora (Rachel Weisz), who tells him that he will become ruler of Oz after he completes this task. During Oscar's journey, he encounters Glinda the Good Witch of the South (Michelle Williams) who reveals a great conspiracy between the witches, and it is up to Oscar to find out who to trust if he is to free Oz and become a better man in the process.
The real highlight of Oz is in its characters. The new characters, Finley the flying monkey (don't worry, this flying monkey isn't child nightmare-inducing) and the China Girl, are welcome additions. In fact the scene in which Oscar and Finley meet the China Girl is one of the best scenes in the entire movie. The China Girl is the sole survivor of an attack on China Town by the Wicked Witch, and voice actor Joey King does a great job with the material given to her. The classic characters are also given unique spins. The Wicked Witch of the West has become more of a tragic villain in recent years, thanks to Wicked, and her story here is certainly of a tragic nature. In this version, she's the result of falling victim to her unstable emotions and her sister's trickery. Speaking of which, the Wicked Witch of the East, an often overlooked character, is put more front and center here and proves to be quite a threat, with her sly wit and silver tongue. Think of her as the female Loki from The Avengers. The only two characters that were disappointing were Glinda and Oz himself. It's not that I didn't like Glinda as a character, it's just that nothing different was really done with her. As for Oz, I don't think James Franco was the right choice for this character. He's certainly trying hard, but maybe a little too hard. He goes over the top and comes off as pretty corny sometimes. At least he doesn't go off the deep end like Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter.
Sam Raimi was an interesting choice of director for this movie, but he manages to blend his unique style with the Oz name and makes it work, for the most part (the trademark Bruce Campbell cameo is pretty funny). The movie starts off pretty slow, and doesn't pick up until the introduction of the China Girl. I guess it's better that the movie got started then rather than later, but I was starting to get worried that the movie would fail to pull me in.
The movie is being described as a prequel to the classic 1939 version, which I don't agree with, but it honestly doesn't feel that way most of the time. It's actually closer to L. Frank Baum's original book than the 1939 film was. There are several nods to the original, and even a few jabs at it. If you've ever shown disdain for the singing Munchkins, you'll probably be amused by Oscar's reaction to them in this version.
Oz the Great and Powerful isn't nearly as good as the original, but it was never meant to be. It's very entertaining and occasionally pretty creative, the traditional signs of a Sam Raimi-directed feature. It's got a few major problems, but they are partly overshadowed by the great characters and creative visuals.
Score:
4/5 Stars
Oz the Great and Powerful suffers from inconsistent performances and pace, but the characterizations, creative visuals, and respect for the original are more than enough to warrant a recommendation.
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