Oz the Great and Powerful

Director: Sam Raimi

Year: 2013

Following up and feeding off of one of the all-time cinema classics is a daunting challenge that appeared to be too great for Raimi and even more so for James Franco. First, for Raimi - the tone of the film is disturbingly uneven. Perhaps the fact that this was a Disney film and there was undoubtedly great pressure to make it a PG rather than PG-13 film, tied his hands back in places where he usually excels. That is, however, so much speculation and beyond what can reasonably be discussed and dissected by what is and what is not on the screen.

That is part and parcel with the other main culprit of my criticism, Franco. I have been a huge fan of Franco's ever since his break out role when he absolutely stunned me with his portrayal of James Dean in the made-for-TV biopic. As James Dean is one of my all time favorite screen presences, I was very skeptical of anyone being able to portray him even reasonably well. Franco did a magnificent job and has gone on to make many movies I have really enjoyed including 127 Hours, Pineapple Express and the SpiderMan trilogy in the early to mid 2000's.

What he was doing in this film is anyone's guess. Rumors from several sites list Robert Downey Jr. as Raimi's initial choice. That would have been a brilliant bit of casting. But again, I digress. What was on the screen? Awkward phrasing, tinny dialogue, and even CGI that made me think, "are they afraid to do anything in camera anymore?"

Despite my criticisms, not all is lost here. And, in fairness, my hopes were high based on my love for the original as well as the books by Frank Baum. Mila Kunis has some dazzling moments and is never worse than good. The story line that follows her broken heart is a well-played "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". Michelle Williams is pitch-perfect as Glenda the Good, bringing weight to a role that could have been easily over simplified.

Two of the brilliant moments of the CGI were the China Girl and Finley. Both were parallels to Oz's Kansas life and both were wonderful in their CG form and performances. The film really becomes enjoyable the moment Oz saves the China girl. The depth of that moment humanizes a fairly wretched being up to that point (both in action and performance). Glenda does not follow far behind and with three winning performances at once on the screen (as they band together), the film is floated forward.

I don't doubt the sincerity of the effort or intent. But this movie, as much as any I've seen in a long while, smacks of too many Witches in the brew making the pot spoil.