Review: 'Oz The Great and Powerful'

Walt Disney Pictures

Oz The Great and Powerful is a film that never lets the audience forget where it takes place: The Land of Oz. Throughout the film there are constant reminders that come in the form of a yellow brick road, witches, the Emerald City and Munchkins. Due to the popularity of L. Frank Baum’s book series and one of its film adaptions, The Wizard of Oz, all of these reminders have become legendary in their right.

So why not allow them to play a major role in the Land of Oz’s newest big screen adventure. The problem in Oz The Great and Powerful is that the elements that the Land of Oz has to offer are only used as things that look nice, possibly nostalgia inducing instead of being an actual part of the story. Oz The Great and Powerful has it all when it comes to looking like the Land of Oz but this proves to be nowhere near enough to make up for a weak, drawn out story. 

Oz The Great and Powerful begins in 1905 Kanas where we first encounter Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a struggling magician in a traveling circus. One of Oscar’s favorite off stage performances is to trick women into falling in love with him by telling them all the same sentimental story. This act catches up with him though when the circus Stongman (Tim Holmes) discovers that his girlfriend has become one of Oscar’s latest victims. With the angry Strongman after him, Oscar has no choice but to escape by jumping into a hot air balloon.

While all of this is happening there is a massive tornado in the horizon. Oscar gets stuck in the middle of the tornado which quickly places him in the Land of Oz. Shortly after this he meets Theodora (Mila Kunis), one of several witches that occupy Oz. Theodora believes that Oscar is the same wizard that has been prophesied to defeat the Wicked Witch. Oscar, being the professional con artist that he is, doesn’t pass on the opportunity to fill the role. Because of this he must then set out to defeat the Wicked Witch.  

If you saw any image or clip from the film, it will come as no surprise that CGI backgrounds and effects work overtime in Oz The Great and Powerful. Yes, some vibrant colors, rapid water featured in a waterfall scene and China Girl (voiced by Joey King) pop off the screen in a dazzling manner but with the year being 2013, CGI isn’t anything new. Also, with the elaborate CGI work, Oz comes off as an animated feature instead of live action as the human actors and non-CGI props awkwardly stand out. Shouldn’t this be the other way around?

Oz The Great and Powerful pays homage to The Wizard of Oz throughout but maybe the ultimate tribute would be to strip down the CGI to a minimum, give more attention to the story along with the characters and create something as if it is 1939 again. Now, that would be something new (as odd as it may sound).

It is Oz’s story that is neither great nor powerful. In fact, to find any story one will have to wait until the film’s final 20 minutes, a long wait considering the 130 minute running time. Up until this point, there are plenty of chase or getaway scenes that forget to include any kind of frantic urgency and actually add up to something. In this slow running time leading up to the finale, there are some laughs, curtsey mostly of China Girl and Finley the flying monkey (voiced by Zach Braff), for the younger audience but they are few and far between. For parents, an older audience, the humor may not help to ease the long running time.

The dialogue certainly does not help in picking up the pace. With unnecessary, awkwardly placed lines such as “I don't want to die! I haven't accomplished anything yet!” throughout, Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire’s script leaves nothing unsaid which contributes to the slow, choppy pace.  

It also does nothing to help support the characters, the leads in particular. The script adds no depth to characters that, given their origins and motives, could be very interesting if handled well. Oscar, Franco’s performance as a result, is so one note and poorly written that the character and performance are never able to stand out. As a result, it is quickly over shadowed by supporting characters such as China Girl and Finely.

With all this said though, the biggest victims of a poor script and character arcs are Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams as the three witches. These actors are given so many throw away lines that if they were given no dialogue, there impact would be the same, most likely better. I will say that Weisz as Evanora is given some freedom in terms of character but Kunis and Williams’s talents are misused and wasted.

Given the story of Oz and the characteristics of the Land of Oz, I can’t help but think that   a story of this nature would play better if given a mush darker, suspenseful spin. Yes, the younger demographic would be lost but the twisted elements and darker aspects of the Land of Oz basically beg for something a little more adult oriented. With his background in horror films, director Sam Raimi may be more effective in going this direction.     

If you can hang in there though and survive Oz The Great and Powerful’s far from impressive first two acts, then you will be rewarded with a semi satisfying finale. Though it will not blow anyone away, it has a nice message with effects that are actually worked into the story. Like I said though, it still cannot make up for the time leading up to it, which makes it hard to recommend to anyone. Kids will find some entertainment but, like the adult’s in the audience, will be bored a majority of the time. This film is for the ones that are looking for the same land that The Wizard of Oz featured. Yes, the yellow brick road, witches, Emerald City, Munchkins and flying monkeys can all be seen in Oz The Great and Powerful but presents is just about all they function as.  

Grade: D+