The Great and Powerful Oz directed by Sam Raimi
I walked out of the theater with mixed feelings, some enjoyment yet sitting with disappointment and confusion. I wanted more and needed clarity.
A greedy magician, who goes by Oz the Wizard, is caught up in a tornado finding himself in the mystical land of Oz. There he is mistaken as a real wizard, the prophecy, although he is lying for the want of money and power. Taking the typical hero’s journey, he must save Oz from the wicked witches by himself changing first.
I especially enjoyed how the movie, starting in the early 1900s, was not only in black and white, but also a square screen format to fit the screen style used then. It then slowly expanded to normal widescreen format and slowly increased saturation upon entering Oz.
The highly graphic and colored Oz is a bit off-putting at first, yet I grew used to it after some time. Perhaps it served a purpose to make the audience feel as confused and out of place as the wizard, Oz.
Yet, the plot and some acting was disappointing to me. Oz, played by James Franco, often came on as too strong while acting, as if trying to appeal to a younger audience, although I would not advise small children to watch it with the wicked witches being much more graphic than the old classic, Wizard of Oz. It did fit though at times for his part as a magician, fitting to that old 1900s acting that was extremely dramatic. It could also serve to characterize him, as he was a fake in the beginning, so it could serve to show he was just “acting” as a real wizard.
Yet sadly, I do not feel the Wizard’s character seems very transformed in the end. I walked out of that theater with lost thoughts about his character.
Mila Kunis played out of her normal character, which could be upsetting and awkward for many of those who have seen most of her movies such as Ted and Friends with Benefits. Her voice was extremely unfitting for the wicked witch, her evil cackle seemed way out of her voice range. It was extremely difficult for me to put her into that character, in fact, I went out of the movie still struggling to see her as the wicked witch.
The story does line up with the Wizard of Oz classic that those have seen, which was fulfilling for me as a viewer in part. Yet its conflict with the Wicked plot really spoiled the movie for me as I was looking for a filler to how the land of Oz characters came to be.
All in all, the movie was mediocre, not recommended for kids, yet not highly recommended for Wicked and Wizard of Oz fans who are looking for background to how the land of Oz came to be in the class Wizard of Oz. It was simply… okay.
In My Thoughts 