Oz the Great and Powerful was a good "feel-good" movie but you couldn't help but ask more from it. Which, I think, is probably a deliberate move on the part of the producers and director Sam Raimi so that more "Oz" movies can be produced and shown, and Disney will have another franchise to build on.
And it's a rich franchise to be sure, what with L. Frank Baum's Oz works belonging to the public domain -- a rich source of material that wouldn't cost that much to whoever will be producing.
Yes, after weeks about talking about the movie, I finally managed to watch it last night on what is probably the flick's last week on the reel-houses. Yes, it has been a slow week for new movies with Holy Week fast approaching.
Oz the Great and Powerful opens in monochrome, even the opening credits are reminiscent of the Oz books and the 1939 film, Wizard of Oz. For the first 15 minutes or so as we are introduced to circus act and con man, Oscar Diggs aka Oz (James Franco) and learn the backdrop for the character, the film is in black and white until Oz reaches Oz whereby colors then explode onto screen -- quite a nice transition as the movie-goer is introduced to the colorful world of Oz.
As a prequel, Oz the Great and Powerful, works sufficiently to work up a fanatic's appetite and we have a credible "origin" story for the humbug Wizard who will meet Dorothy Gale and her companions some 20 years into the future (based on the movie's timeline) and how he came to be ruler of Emerald City. We are introduced to what makes him tick, what motivates him, and what eventually leads him to the self-realization that led him to saving Oz with what he did best -- that of being a con man. The movie also introduces us to the Witches of Oz, who are key characters in the Oz mythos. There's Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and her sister Theodora (Mila Kunis) who would be later on be revealed to be the Wicked Witches of the East and West, respectively. And of course, there's Glinda the Good (Michelle Williams), the ruler of the South. Distinctly missing though is the Witch of the North.
Aside from the main characters, we're also introduced to the world of Oz and this movie conveniently hints at numerous possibilities for future Oz films. Of course, the Peoples of Oz are present -- the Munchkins, the Tinkers (who will create Nick Chopper aka the Tin Woodman), the Quadlings, and the militaristic Winkies. The Cowardly Lion makes a cameo and Finley the Winged Monkey represents the Winged Monkeys of the book fame. We also have China Girl from the Dainty China Country and familiar elements from the Oz books such as the deadly poppy fields, and the Yellow Brick Road make their appearance.
What's good about the movie though is even though you haven't read the books yet, you won't feel alienated. Oz the Great and Powerful has enough of the book elements to hook the Oz fanatic but is not too "deep into the details" that it would turn-off non-genre watchers.
In fact, there have been great liberties adapted by the film that it deviates from the Oz canon.
For example, in the book, Emerald City is said to have been created by Oz the Wizard himself after being driven out from the Land of the East by the Wicked Witch there. In the movie, Emerald City is already established by the time Franco arrives.
We also have the case of the Winged Baboons -- I know Winged Monkeys, like Finley, but Winged Baboons? And where were the rest of the Winged Monkeys?
The Winkies, who in the books are supposed to occupy the West, are guards of Emerald City and they're wearing blue? I could've understood if they wore green (they were serving as Emerald City's military after all) but it would've been more appropriate if they wore yellow.
Now, these deviations from the Oz canon are generally excusable but one deviation which will be problematic in the future is the case of Glinda the Good.
In the books, Glinda was always ruler of the South. A witch, yes, and she ruled the Lands of the Quadlings. And her colors were red. But in the movie, Glinda is portrayed as the daughter of the former Wizard King of Oz whom Evanora had slain. And she sports white as her colors.
Now the colors can be excused as confusion on the part of the writers or the director (or the editors or cinematographers) but I think that positioning Glinda as the daughter of the former ruler of all of Oz opens a pandora box. What happens to the continuity when Ozma is later on introduced? And think about this: if you were the rightful heir to the throne of all of Oz, would you give it up to a egoistic humbug con wizard?
It looks like some story details were overlooked.
In all, Oz the Great and Powerful could've benefited from a tighter storyline and better and more consistent acting from the cast. I mean, Franco was ok as the Wizard but he could've done a better job as in some scenes his acting was awkward like during the "big idea" and realization scene (when he tucked in China Girl). There were some scenes where his acting was natural and in the next minute he looked like he was "trying hard".
Among the witches, I think Mila Kunis did justice to her Theodora character quite well with Michelle Williams as Glinda coming in second. Rachel Weisz' Evanora was passable but I had expected her to be more sinister as she was the head instigator after all.
I expected a little more "punch" and "umpphh" from the movie especially during the climax when Oz was using his theatrics wizardry to drive away the Wicked Witches from Emerald City. While I understood Oz would be resorting to trickery to upstage the two evil witches, I expected something more grandiose and spectacular. A little more unpredictability would have also helped.
So, did I enjoy the movie? Of course I enjoyed the movie. It's an Oz film. But like I said earlier, after the end credits rolled, you couldn't help but ask more from it.
Final Rating for Oz the Great and Wonderful: 3.5 out of 5
