Oz the Great and
Powerful is Disney’s prequel to the
1939 classic movie The Wizard of Oz, and it’s set 20 years before
the tale of Dorothy Gale’s (Judy Garland) journey into the Land of Oz. The
movie’s characters are based on The Oz series by L. Frank Baum.
The movie is
delightful, and Disney paid homage to the old classic by starting the
introduction of the main character, Oscar "Oz" Diggs (James Franco),
in black and white. The moment he steps into Oz, the movie transforms to
color—just like the
1939 classic, which started in sepia-tinted black and white and turned
to color when Dorothy arrived in Oz.
I enjoyed the
colorful aspect of the movie, and I have to give kudos to the story. It was
interesting and engaging, and I found myself drawn in. The idea that the Wizard
of Oz was originally a con man—a magician of mere tricks who travels with a
circus—was fascinating. One day, he finds himself in the Land of Oz, where they
await their savior, a wizard so great that he’ll be able to defeat the witch
sisters.
Here, our hero arrives in Oz as a con man, and we get to see him transform into the wizard we know from The Oz series. The movie has its issues, even though it is visually stunning, its reliance on CGI sometimes makes the world feel artificial rather than immersive. The pacing slows in the middle, causing parts of the story to drag before the climax. James Franco’s performance as Oz is also inconsistent, occasionally lacking the charm and presence needed for the role.
The movie did
face some hiccups during production, some of which were due to the cast having
other roles they had to leave to fulfill. There were also legal issues, as
Warner Bros. owned all the rights to the elements used in the
1939 classic. For example, the shade of green for the Wicked Witch of
the West differs from the 1939
version, her mole is absent, and the yellow brick road is nowhere to be
seen (though there is a brick road).
Director Sam
Raimi and James Franco worked together in the Spider-Man trilogy,
where Franco played Harry Osborne. Here, Raimi did an impressive job
coordinating the events in this film.
The movie makes
references to characters from the old classic. For instance, a lady Oz is
seeing tells him she’s marrying a man whose last name is Gale (Dorothy Gale).
We see the creation of the Scarecrow, meet the men who created the Tin Man, and
witness how the Cowardly Lion became cowardly after being frightened by Oz.
My take on this
movie is that it’s fun and a nice watch, not the best acting you will find out there, but the movie is ok.
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