Much like Director Victor Fleming's 1939 film, Raimi and company open the tale in a "full screen" format (4:3 Academy Ratio) featuring a black and white prologue. The setting is the dusty confines of 1905 Kansas as we're introduced to James Franco's struggling Magician, "Oscar Diggs", a traveling Circus performer with questionable ethics and delusions of grandeur. After establishing a few characters whom we'll recognize later on reinterpreted in the more fantastical setting, Oscar incurs the wrath of a jealous Strongman who's enraged to find the Magician has been flirting with his sweetheart. Our protagonist narrowly escapes the situation in a hot air balloon, only to be whisked away by a violent tornado and introduced to the Land of Oz- now in full, glorious color and shot in the widescreen format, no less. "Oz" (short for Oscar) is then mistaken by many of it's inhabitants as a Great Wizard who, according to prophecy, is destined to defeat the Wicked Witch and return the land to a former glory.
Some of the best aspects of this origin story involves those "little touches" supplied by Director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man 1, 2 & 3, Darkman, Evil Dead II), - fans can expect the auteur's trademarks such as frantic camera angles, wild tracking shots and spastic humor with the Director's commonly visited themes of ingenuity, the art of illusion and redemption playing an important role throughout. Expect plenty of stranger in a strange land wonderment featuring a wealth of impressive digital backdrops and set pieces. Strangely enough for a PG rated film, there's also quite a few frighteningly creepy moments (mostly involving some pesky, flying primates), as well- it's Raimi at his near best.
James Franco (127 Hours) gives a near-miss performance as the titular Oz- it's an expressive turn filled with cheesy grins, horrified looks and reactionary dialogue. His character is a bit of a scoundrel, though ultimately one with a heart of gold. Although it's by far his best comedic part since "Pineapple Express" and the actor's much better than I thought he'd be, I just couldn't help but visualize other actors in the role. Robert Downey Jr. and Johnny Depp apparently declined the part and I felt both would have been excellent choices given the nature of the role and the various setups/situations throughout the film. A fifteen years younger version of Bruce Campbell would have been perfect. As is, Franco is serviceable and never really hurts the film- even his most ardent detractors shouldn't have too much to complain about...
***MAJOR SPOILER ALERT***
Mila Kunis (Friends With Benefits) appears out of her element as the gullible and impressionable Witch, "Thedora"- it's her most mundane work that I can recall. The speed in which she falls head over heels for Oscar is slightly painful to watch and might have one thinking "Well, it's a kid's movie...". Kunis is never quite able to find a natural fit in the film and is disappointingly inadequate when her character is transformed into and unleashed as the black-clad, broom-riding, green-skinned Wicked Witch so many of us have grown up loving to hate. The normally talented, capable young actress simply isn't able to muster the nefarious gusto necessary for the villainous turn here. Even the signature laugh of the Wicked Witch seems dubbed...
Rachel Weisz (The Mummy) does commendable work with limited material as the scheming "Evanora", the eldest of the three Witchy sisterhood. Looking to exploit Theodora's deep-seeded anger issues and subsequent jealousy over being deceived by Oscar, Evanora's motives (as well as the reasoning behind the fractured relationships with her sisters) aren't really all that fleshed out. This aspect of the plot appears to have been engineered topically (in true Disney fashion) so that younger viewers could more easily follow the story- that said, it definitely could have been handled with a bit more clarity. I would have rearranged the cast a bit to have had the veteran Weisz as Theodora as I'm positive she would have done a superior job playing the The Wicked Witch of The West. I'm not so sure any actress could touch Margaret Hamilton's iconic turn, but I would have loved to have seen Weisz give it a try...
***END OF MAJOR SPOILER
Michelle Williams (Shutter Island) is fine as the wholesome "Glinda", ruler and protector of the good-natured Farmers, "Munchkins" and "Tinkers" of the realm. "Glinda" ultimately falls for Oscar's charms, as well, although there is bit more depth given to the matter. I must say I'm glad she didn't try to imitate Billie Burke's high-pitched, annoyingly sugary turn in the '39 film, though a shade more character development would have been nice here.
Zach Braff (Garden State) portrays the Magicians assistant "Frank" in the setup, later introduced as the voice of a Flying Monkey named "Finley" who's indebted to Oscar for saving his life. Finley's a cool, comedic side-kick with a few great lines that I'm sure the little ones will enjoy.
Joey King (Ramona and Beezus) portrays a girl in a wheelchair in the prologue, later chiming in as the voice of "China Girl" in perhaps the film's finest display of special effects. A scene in which Oz mends the porcelain character's legs is my pick for most poignant in the film.
Bill Cobbs (The Bodyguard) and Tony Cox (Bad Santa) pop in and out of the feature as "Master Tinker" and "Knuck", respectively- it's OK, though topical, character work for the two. I would have thought this would have been a fantastic opportunity to cast such vertically challenged stars as Warwick Davis (Willow, Return of The Jedi), Verne Troyer (Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me) and Peter Dinklage (HBO's Game Of Thrones), but oh well...
"Oz The Great and Powerful" is not a musical- a brief segment where the Munchkins introduce themselves via song and dance is stopped short by Raimi as if the Director were making a "I'm not having any of that!" statement. I'm of the mindset that just one well-conceived and choreographed number, or singing performance from any of the three female leads, couldn't have hurt matters. I think it's a misstep by the producers/filmmakers.
Overall, "Oz The Great And Powerful" comes Highly Recommended for what it's worth: a funny, occasionally creepy and outright visually impressive fantasy film with a throwback feel. Fans of the original 1939 film should have a good deal of fun recognizing a myriad of references to it, complete with the obligatory yellow brick road and multi-colored horses grazing in the distance. Be sure to check it out in 3D for maximum enjoyment, but be forewarned; those damned flying, shrieking baboons might scare the hell out of the little ones- mixed in with all the youngsters laughter was more than a couple exclamations of, "Mommy, I'm scared!"...
Oh yeah, expect a cameo from the Cowardly Lion and an inept Winkie Guardsman that looks curiously like Bruce Campbell...
8.0 out of 10
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