Oz the Great and Poweful

 Sam Raimi has gained the reputation as one of the most acclaimed directors of the past thirty years. From the infamous “Evil Dead Trilogy,” to his “Spiderman Trilogy,” he's a top notch director who knows what he's doing. To this day, my favorite of his films will always be “Darkman,” for more reasons than one. Today, we'll be talking about his newest film, “Oz the Great and Powerful,” but let me just tell you my thoughts on the Oz series in general.

I'm one of those people who isn't too crazy about “The Wizard of Oz.” I never really got into the books that much, nor do I have the same amount of nostalgia for the film as others do, since...well, I never watched it when I was a kid. I might have, but I didn't remember it that much. I can understand why people would think of it as a very inspirational film, and I can understand why people have such fond memories of it. Same goes for its sequel, “Return to Oz,” which was a much more darker turn on the source material. It had it's moments, but still it was just okay.

Now this film has been through so much production, that it was originally going to be a Tim Burton movie, with Johnny Depp as Oz, but later on it was handed to Sam Raimi and James Franco. Honestly, I'm glad they made that change, because I think Burton's had his share of fantasy remakes.

“Oz the Great and Powerful” tells of a circus magician named Oswald, or Oz as he is called by others, who wants a passion to be something great to the people. After escaping from some of the other carnies in a hot air balloon, he is sucked into a twister, where he ends up in the Land of Oz. He meets up with Theodora, and she takes him to the Emerald City, where he's told by Evanora that he must defeat the wicked witch, if he is to claim the Emerald City as his new home with treasure, but there may be something else at hand here. Now when I first saw the film, I really enjoyed it, but when I started to think about it more, the lesser I thought of it.

First off, some of the pacing was a bit sloppy. When Oz first meets Theodora, the relationship between the two was too sudden, and I felt that it should have taken more time with it. Not only that, but when he has his assistant in the beginning of the film, by giving her a music box his grandmother gave him, he does the exact same thing with Theodora when they have their first night. That and when she finds out that Oz is turning against her now, she becomes the wicked witch, and she blames him for doing this, by breaking her heart. Moments like those just felt so rushed and don't add enough time to it, ESPECIALLY if it's over two hours.

Also, there are certain characters where they're different interpretations of people that Oz encountered in the real world, done in the Land of Oz. Like how Zach Braff as Oz's assistant is represented by the monkey in the bellhop outfit, and a crippled girl represented by a China girl. And I don't mean she's Chinese, the girl's made of fine china, in a place called Chinatown...get it? That would be fine if it turned out to be a dream, but it isn't apparently, so what was the point?

The character of Oz was also not that interesting until the third act. Throughout the rest beginning and middle of the film, he's just a conman, through and through. That wouldn't be so bad, but he just turned out to be so unlikable. However, when the third act comes around, he does show some redemption, but only to the level of passable. No disrespect to James Franco, it's just that the character wasn't written too well.

Not only that, but let me just say this: When Theodora becomes the true Wicked Witch of the West, the make-up is just AWFUL. I'm not kidding, when you see her as the witch, all she has is a bigger chin and nose, she's green and that's it. She still looks like Mila Kunis, just in make-up. And was it really that necessary to show some of her cleavage as the witch? Really Sam?

And lastly, why did Bruce Campbell have another less than a minute cameo in this film? I read up somewhere that he was going to play a character called Gore the Dark Wizard, and I was hoping he'd be a villain of some sorts. Why didn't we go with that, I would have loved to see him play another villain again. I mean, it's BRUCE CAMPBELL of all people!

But aside from all that, what WAS good about the movie? Well, let me say the film is visually amazing. I mean, WOW did this film look pretty. This keeps in tradition of the other Oz films, where it has so much color and life to it, and I really think that works in the film's favor. When it had moments like when we first meet the little China Girl or the introduction credits, it's stunning, even with the use of 3D. I also love moments, where Theodora cries, and it leaves burn scars on her face. At first, I thought it was part of her fire powers, but it actually references the weakness of water, which I thought was pretty cool. There are other moments that are little nods to the original Oz film, and some have criticized it as a bit distracting, but I didn't even notice.

And even with some of the weak character development and pacing, the acting is still good. James Franco, even if his character didn't seem all that interesting, he still does a good job. Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz as the Wicked Witches do give it their all, and the relationship between the two is investing. Zach Braff does a good job in the film too, and was actually pretty funny in it. He has one-liners, he's a bit of a smartass, but does have a good heart. Joey King, who had played young Tailia al Ghul in “The Dark Knight Rises,” played the little China girl. She was just adorable, and it was hard to take my attention off her, she was that good.

Overall, “Oz the Great and Powerful,” wasn't all that great, but it wasn't bad. I did have something to like about it, and there were things that made it worth seeing in theaters, especially with the 3D price at hand, as long as it's at a matinee price. I guess it just depends on how you feel.

Rating: 6/10