 |
| James Franco in front of a green-screen looking at nothing but imagining a pile of money... for motivation -in Sam Raimi's film of Disney's Oz the Great and Powerful |
**1/2 out of ****
Are you a good waste of time, or a bad waste of time? A prequel
to The Wizard of Oz definitely sounds like a time-killer movie. The concept
of how a con-man became a great and powerful con-man (who would one day play a
role in a Kansas farm girl’s concussion-induced dream) isn’t very interesting.
It could still be a little fun, right? I guess it was.
The structure echoes the beloved classic film. It appropriately
begins in black and white but amplifies the transition to color by changing
from the classic square-shaped screen to widescreen as we arrive in Oz. He then
finds his way to a city is given a task, which leads him to make some
whimsical friends along the way.
This time, the lead character lacks innocence and his journey is about finding greatness he regularly fools people into thinking he possesses. The story is about how those who spin illusions can be heroes. Disney would love to spread such a message.
The world of the movie never looks very real and doesn’t have to. Like the original film’s obvious painted backdrops and matte landscapes, this movie is mostly a bunch of visual effects that fill the screen with bright colors and provide the essence of an animated film with real people inserted.
It’s a pleasant visual experience, no doubt, and Sam Raimi’s directorial style is energetic with his typically corny sensibilities. Then there’s the script, which reminded me of how much I hate the word prophecy in fantasy movies, but still seems worth forgiving because everything weak about it, was bound to be elevated by a good cast… That wound up being this movie’s biggest problem and the worst of that casting is sadly the wizard himself.
James Franco needs to be demoted from his current status in Hollywood. I think a lot of him, but he continues to take high-paying roles that are way outside his range. IMDB’s trivia section on the movie claims Johnny Depp, Robert Downey Jr. and Christoph Waltz were all considered for the role. I can imagine how improved this movie would be if any of those men had been Oz, but I’m sure they had better things to do.
The other weakness is Mila Kunis. Bless her heart. She does what she can with the role but doesn’t have the chops to play Theodora, the good woman destined to turn into the Wicked Witch of the West. As silly as that role is thought to be, there’s creativity and playful energy required, that I hate to say, this beautiful actress lacks.
It’s Rachel Weisz as Evanora, for whom a house will one day be dropped upon, who shines with perfect theatrical versatility. There’s also Michelle Williams as Glinda, who doesn’t have to try very hard to look like the sweetest witch in Oz.
There’s other supporting characters like a monkey who sounds like a less-funny Nathan Lane but is in fact an unenthusiastic Zach Braff. He’s really one-upped by the 13-year-old Joey King who does a very emotional voice performance as a tragedy stricken little girl made of china.
There’s also three-foot six-inch actor Tony Cox (Marcus in Bad Santa) who doesn’t have enough screen time but is always great, and the Raimi-arranged cameo by Bruce Campbell as one of the Witch’s guards.
I don’t know what Danny Elfman’s scores are like to fresh ears, but his approach to fantasy movie music for the past decade, has been nothing but imitating himself. I am so tired of everything he does for this genre sounding like a weaker version of his score to Edward Scissorhands.
The movie is fun but not enough. This yellow brick road is a rough ride varying between a zany bubble riding scene and boring scenes of needless exposition, which drag out the running time to two hours and ten minutes. I was decided on seeing this movie as a glass half-full during the climax when Oz finally becomes the Wizard, which was a goofy visual feast that put a grin on my face almost as awkward as James Franco’s. This was preferable to a stupid battle scene and I liked it.
By the end, I could say that this seemed like a good waste of time. Oz is something acceptable but nothing to get excited over. Okay Disney, what are you doing to Star Wars? (Fingers crossed)
For me, I feel that the appeal of the film was similar to that of Revenge of the Sith in that you see elements of the movies (or in this case movie) you like start to shine through. You get to see how some of the things that are in the original come about, and also you get to see some familiar sights as well, which hearken back to the original.
ReplyDeleteI think the main weakness of this movie lies in the four main characters. Mila Kunis's character, within seconds of seeing James Franco's character, is in love with him and, then a day or two later, is completely heart-broken. I feel that this is supposed to be one of the main storylines (but gets lost in it all) but it feels contrived and forced. I feel like this is similar with the relationships between the witches and Oz
What I think would've been better is if Oz had stayed in the Emerald City for a week or more. This would allow for far more character development and relationship development and would allow for the rising action and climax to feel more genuine than artificial.
That, and Disney's need for talking animals and bending the film to throw 3d things at the audience.
I can't say this movie achieved greatness, nor necessarily goodness, but I did enjoy it regardless and, at times, it had that air about it only an Oz film can. Unfortunately, it was lost in the morass of CG and clunky characters.
Ekk! I almost walked out about halfway through... Not really because it was repulsive, but I hated the "familiar" elements that took up too much time. It was so obvious to go from black and white to color. Why on Earth did the Wizard also need to come from Kansas? The character development was non-existant, and there was just tons of CG imagery shots. Nostalgia ruled this movie's whole first half, but it came off like a bad made-for-Disney-TV movie with a huge CGI budget. I was shocked as a Raimi fan, and underwhelmed as a fan of Wizard of Oz. I was glad to have stuck it out, because Evanora and Glenda were really good, and the final scenes were pretty enjoyable. I felt like I at least got some of the money's worth. Still has no place as classic OZ movie.
ReplyDelete