Prequel fails to meet expectations with flat performances, weak story
Origin stories are often central to prequels for some of our most-beloved film franchises. And, as with films “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” (1999) and “Prometheus” (2012), they tend to come with much anticipation and even greater expectations.
Such is the case with “Oz the Great and Powerful,” the much anticipated prequel to Dorothy’s adventures based on L. Frank Baum’s beloved novel. The anticipation was indeed high, but the expectations were only adequately met.
With “Oz the Great and Powerful,” I suppose I can say the movie is all brains but lacks heart and nerve. Like Disney’s take on “Alice in Wonderland” (2010), this movie takes us on a wild ride into a magical land where characters are bland, stories are poorly written and necessary humor is absent, but visuals are bright and exuberant.
As anyone can probably guess, “Oz the Great and Powerful” is an origin story about how a man from Kansas became the man behind the curtain. James Franco plays Oscar Diggs, a con man and circus magician who gets caught in a tornado (seriously have to stay away from those in Kansas) and ends up in the land of Oz. Once there, he’s introduced to a variety of characters who believe him to be the long-awaited wizard who will bring peace to the land.
From then on, we’re introduced to characters in Oz who, like the original film, have some reference to characters from Kansas. Zach Braff voices Oscar’s faithful monkey Finley, a character that feels ripped off a “Shrek” script. There’s also a little cute-but-creepy China doll (voiced by Joey King) whose reason for being in this movie I can’t comprehend. I much prefer the company Dorothy kept.
Probably the biggest disappointments “Oz” presents are the witches, partially due to director Sam Raimi’s safe approach toward making family entertainment. Michelle Williams’ (one of most revered actress of the past decade) portrayal of Glinda the Good Witch is so sugary and sweet that she can’t help but come out as insipid and boring. Mila Kunis, a rising star, is also flat and over-the-top as Theodora, the soon-to-be Wicked Witch of the West. Margaret Hamilton’s 1939 witch was the stuff of children’s nightmares, but Kunis is about as scary as an elementary school drama production of “Wicked.”
Rachael Weisz basically plays it safe as Evanora, the witch who eventually ends up on the wrong side of the house. She acquits herself well in a menacing role of the Wicked Witch of the East, who schemes behind everyone’s backs, including her own sister.
The role of the Great and Powerful Oz doesn’t seem to be a great fit for Franco, although his performance is adequate. He’s much more believable in the moments where Oscar presents his slimy and sinister side and not so much in the sincere moments, and this is a role that requires handling of both. Otherwise, we’re just seeing Franco being Franco and not the almighty Oz.
Like Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” director Sam Raimi follows the “Avatar” (2009) road and uses modern-day technology to present “Oz” with a grander and more spectacular vision. The beautiful but overwhelming scenes are often scintillating, and CGI is used to great effect. Plenty of visuals allow the 3-D to pay off, with things like spears and flying baboons invading our personal space.
But this isn’t always worthwhile. With all the bright green, digital wonders and overall focus on visuals, this version of “Oz” feels more artificial than the 1939 film. We feel like we’ve stumbled into a revisioning of both Pandora and Wonderland instead of being hurled back into the land of singing munchkins (there aren’t that many musical numbers, by the way). There are also moments when the story just pauses and the film showcases its visuals too heavily. This adds about 30 minutes of unnecessary time for the graphics masterminds to play “look what I can do.”
Fans of Baum’s original novel and the 1939 film might get a kick out of the allusions and parallels within the story. The Master Tinker, who soon constructs the Tin Man, makes an appearance, scarecrows are used against the witches and there’s even a reference toward Dorothy Gale in the role.
Raimi even pays tribute toward “The Wizard of Oz” by changing the aspect ratio of the screen from 4:3 black and white to 2.35:1 widescreen color.
Most of the story focuses on Oscar’s transformation from a deceitful, heart-breaking slickster to the wise and sincere Wizard of Oz, a plot that leads to a final act where the story actually presents some wit and reveals to have some heart, but then we’re reminded once again that Franco just wasn’t a great fit for this role.
Oscar raves at the beginning of the movie that he doesn’t want to be a good man but a “great” one. While I hope that was Raimi’s mental state toward making this film, “Oz the Great and Powerful” is only good enough, but thankfully nowhere near “John Carter” flop territory.
Given Disney’s recent fascination with putting a fresh spin on classic fairy tales due to a planned revival of “Beauty and the Beast,” we can probably expect a sequel to take a tornado from Kansas into the theaters sometime in the future.