Oz the Great and Powerful (Sam Raimi)

[Spinal]

OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

Director: Sam Raimi

imdb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1623205/)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/oz-the-great-and-powerful-poster4_zps333cf7e8.jpg

[Spinal]

Mild yay. Best to set expectations low. Whereas Dorothy Gale's objectives and needs were clearly expressed, Oz does not make for a terribly compelling protagonist, at least in this film. His flaw is that he is shallow, non-committal and phony. His half-hearted quest to find his integrity is murky territory for a family film, especially since it is so closely tied to his romantic fidelity. Perhaps the most effective relationships are those between Oz and his more fantastical companions, a winged bellhop monkey (of the domesticated variety) and a tiny fragile china girl (of the non-David Bowie variety). James Franco seems ill-suited for the title role, his understated delivery and contemporary mannerisms out of sync with the heightened universe around him. Mila Kunis is likewise overmatched, but gives it a game effort. Unsurprisingly, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz fare best and keep the film on the rails. The story isn't great, but it isn't bad. And there are enough fun effects and visual surprises to recommend seeing the film in 3D.

[Spinal]

Also ... green cleavage.

[dreamdead]

Also ... green cleavage.

Well, I wasn't sure I wanted to see this before, but now...

[TGM]

So I really didn't think this movie worked. It wasn't terrible, but it just felt very ingenuine, very artificial, both in style and in the way it tries to force emotion into moments that completely lack it and don't deserve it. And any scene with the Wicked Witch of the West is just cringe inducing to sit through. The acting and effects were pretty laughably bad. I will say though that, like Spinal, I enjoyed Oz's interactions with his companions the most in this movie, especially the China doll girl, who I thought was surprisingly the best thing about this movie. But anyways, here's my full review (http://cwiddop.blogspot.com/2013/03/oz-not-so-great-and-powerful.html) on it.

[EyesWideOpen]

Yay but barely. The added comedy was really not necessary and I think Raimi was a terrible choice for this material. The three female leads and the companion characters were the highlights.

[Ivan Drago]

At least tell me it's better than Alice in Wonderland.

[EyesWideOpen]

At least tell me it's better than Alice in Wonderland.

I'm a big fan of Alice in Wonderland so no.

[Sxottlan]

Little China Girl was amazing. Easily the best part of the film. The scene where Oz glues her back together was strangely beautiful.

The rest? Blah. Not sure why I'm not actually giving it a lower rating. Maybe because it's the "franchise" history. I ended up pretty indifferent towards this. There was something strangely inappropriate about the movie. I can't quite place my finger on it. Maybe because it's a kids film centering around a grown man. Normally I would applaud a change like that, but then Oz turns out to be a philanderer. A Disney movie philanderer, which means he runs around giving girls music boxes and giving them kisses.

And since it's been ages since I saw the original film, I don't remember if the wicked witches actually had proper names. So the whole subplot about who the Wicked Witch was and how she came to be was confusing to me.

It was clearly Mila Kunis in makeup on the cover of that recent EW. Yet here she first appears as a regular person, so I thought maybe she was just pretending. But then Oz is told "the Wicked Witch" is out there and active. Then the good witch tells him that Evanora is the actual wicked witch. And sure enough she's all dressed in green and such. So I'm thinking it's her. Then for some reason Evanora inflicts this horrible spell on her sister, finally turning her into the actual Wicked Witch. All the while I'm forgetting that the Wicked Witch even had a sister. So that whole subplot was just confusing.

But the reason for the Wicked Witch's wrath? She spent like a few hours with Oz, falls in love with him and then feels betrayed. With Raimi at the wheel, I look at the Wicked Witch and all I saw was the Green Goblin. With the makeup job from The Mask. Badly done.

And then she's basically relegated to the Darth Maul role to Evanora's Darth Sidious role, even including lightning attack! We don't even get much about Theodora after the intriguing first shot of her. Her tears cause scarring and physical pain. That would have been worth exploring.

Return to Oz was better.

[Spinal]

At least tell me it's better than Alice in Wonderland.

Much better. Alice in Wonderland is shit.

[Dukefrukem]

I was going to see this today, but then I saw it was 2 hours and 7 minutes long and decided I have better things to do.

[Spinal]

That's a perfectly reasonable length for a film like this. For all its flaws, feeling long is not one of them.

[TGM]

That's a perfectly reasonable length for a film like this. For all its flaws, feeling long is not one of them.
Disagree. Even though it was only a little over 2 hours, it felt closer to 2 and a half or 3.

[Scar]

I was going to see this today, but then I saw it was 2 hours and 7 minutes long and decided I have better things to do.

Skip ten minutes of the previews.

[Winston*]

I was going to see this today, but then I saw it was 2 hours and 7 minutes long and decided I have better things to do.

2 hours and 7 minutes isn't that much longer than 2 hours. Certainly not bold + italics longer.

[Ezee E]

It'd prevent Duke from playing Dead Space 3 an eighth time.

[Wryan]

2 hours and 7 minutes isn't that much longer than 2 hours. Certainly not bold + italics longer.

I dunno. Walter Chaw described it as "well over two hours." That sounds close to bold+italics to me. Or it's possible that he was like the last Asian, and the math had already been given to everybody else.

[Dukefrukem]

2 hours and 7 minutes isn't that much longer than 2 hours. Certainly not bold + italics longer.

You must have missed the convo in the FDT where we were all complaining about 2+ hour long movies. I loathe them all of a sudden.

[Dukefrukem]

It'd prevent Duke from playing Dead Space 3 an eighth time.

A 5th time Eric. Only 5 times. And it will probably be closer to six if I can't friggin find anyone to to do co-op with me...

[Ezee E]

A 5th time Eric. Only 5 times. And it will probably be closer to six if I can't friggin find anyone to to do co-op with me...

Why so many times?

[Dukefrukem]

Platinum Trophy Yo.

[Rowland]

Many great movies are 2+ hours, many shitty movies are < 2 hours, and vice versa. If anything, I prefer to see longer movies at the theater, there are less distractions.

I know someone who argues that movies aren't worth his time anymore, he sticks exclusively to television now, when he isn't devoting 4+ hours a day to playing fighting games online. We all value our time differently.

[EyesWideOpen]

I have never once looked to see the length of a movie before going to see it or cared what the running time was. Unless of course I only had a small window to see it in.

[Dukefrukem]

@EWO Funny post.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Two hours and seven minutes is a breeze compared to most modern Hollywood blockbustery.

[Neclord]

I'm so used to overinflated 2hrs45 3D action thrillrides that I cannot watch anything shorter without experiencing DTs.

[MadMan]

Since I don't care about 3D and I've heard mixed things about this one, I'll just wait for DVD/Blu Ray. The more I think about it though, the more I wonder who they could have cast in the title role besides James Franco, even though I think they could have done better. If that makes any sense.

[Ezee E]

I definitely am aware of showtimes. Think that's primarily the reason I avoided Les Miserables.

[Spinal]

I definitely am aware of showtimes. Think that's primarily the reason I avoided Les Miserables.

And yet, you saw Django Unchained.

[Ezee E]

I knew I'd like Django, that's the difference. Les Miserables, I really wasn't sure on.

[BuffaloWilder]

This was. . .okay. Adequate entertainment.

James Franco was totally miscast and Bruce Campbell (or someone like him) should've played Oz, but whatever.

[Spun Lepton]

James Franco is definitely the weak link here. I like the guy and think he's good with characters within his range, but this is not one of those roles. He sometimes looks stoned. Mila Kunis is the stand-out performance. I'd like to see her play more adventurous roles.

[Wryan]

This is all over the tone map--some moments too inappropriate for kids (warm body pressing and Raimi bringin' back the gypsy from Drag Me to Hell, seemingly) and others embarrassingly simplistic. The world seems cleverly styled for Oz but gets shoved aside by the camera-charging 3D elements. The joy of Oz is in wonder, not excess. Franco is all teeth and doesn't work. It's unfortunate that there are some shimmering elements peeking out here and there that get swallowed up, because the climax, with Oz's "greatest trick," is sincerely awesome--the kind of awesome that brought me right back to childhood seeing the Wizard for the first time, except now I'm on his side of the curtain and it's just plain impish fun. Visually, the climax is rendered quite strikingly as well. The moral messages are hokey and delivered with the grace of a brassy gong.

[Gizmo]

This just missed being something special. It lacked the wide-eyed innocence that Oz should inspire. While some of the story seemed forced, other aspects felt rushed. I actually felt like the pacing was poor, and this could have worked as a 2 parter, this one setting up the Oz/Glinda/World aspect and the next one delving into the Wicked sisters and their fall from grace with Oz rise to power.

[Rowland]

Is this Raimi's Hugo? Also, was that a Deadite? Deeply flawed, but underrated all the same.

[Grouchy]

I give this a mild Yay. There are many valid reasons for disliking it, but Raimi is still a competent director and he gets some wonderful scenes in here. Unlike many of you, I didn't find Franco miscast - I think flamboyant comes naturally to him.

I think I kept comparing it to Alice in Wonderland, which is unfair because that movie is so shitty it makes anything look good.

[Bosco B Thug]

Wow, gigantically relieved this was not the gigantic waste of time I was completely expecting. Rough, posery Kansas section, and Oz's roller coastery introduction is lifeless CGI spectacle, but once the plot begins, this is fine, real, non-CGI-overruled entertainment. Franco has none of the gravitas, but he's funny and can open his eyes really wide and contort his face in a hipster-ironic simulation of genuine slapstick performance, so he's mostly rewarding in Raimi's full-on cartoony approach to action. Also, I didn't think she had it in her, but Mila Kunis is great and classically beautiful in the most dramatic role.

[Dukefrukem]

Love Raimi. I thought the wicked witch reveal was great-and I kinda figured they'd go the G.I.Joe route and have the lesser villain become the more powerful foe. I love the throwbacks to slapstick humor- the hot air balloon scene at the beginning- Raimi using his camera-on-projectile technique, the claw on the coffee table gag... Good stuff. It fits well with this universe. I'll agree with most that I feel Franco is the weak link here. Weisz is phenomenal as usual. Kunis was just OK. That laugh, ugh that laugh.

[Henry Gale]

This only manages to be interesting when Raimi finds ways of sneaking in loud reminders that he's the director behind it. But aside from those trademark zooms, sudden jolt-inducing scares, him finally managing to do his originally intended make-up version of Green Goblin with the Wicked Witch here, the silhouette transformations and dutch angles, it's otherwise pretty blandly despite its broad palette and so many striking design elements, and even with those aspects it could've just as easily been set in Burton's Wonderland without anyone batting an eye.

Also a shame that Franco and Kunis are given the main dramatic heft of everything since both of their performances end up coming off as complete duds. It's even more obvious while finally watching this that Oz as a character that he was originally written squarely and rightfully for Robert Downey, Jr., since the sort of charismatic dickery he's written to exude pretty much Downey's forte, and I guess once he dropped out they simply needed someone as recognizable as Franco to fill his shoes even if the range of his potential on-screen personalities is so tonally ill-suited to his abilities. Franco's entire performance ends up feeling like it's being played with him rolling his eyes between takes. It's the sort of performance he does where he seemingly puts in just the acceptable amount of effort on set and makes every line reading sound borderline ironic as a sort of PR insurance for him to potentially later save face and joke about while he's acts through his green-screen flailing, yelling and talking to flying monkeys, all in case it ended up embarassingly in the final film. But sadly as a result, everything else around him seems to deliver but him, and his presence acts a vacuum to whatever might be otherwise involving.

And Kunis is just so weirdly monotone and cringe-inducing when she ventures outside of her typical vocal and emotional range that it's a shame she doesn't find a way to be more fun as the Witch, since unlike in the first half where the script does her character motivations and potential empathy no favours, over-the-top scene-chewing is pretty much the template for the Wicked Witch, but she's simply too small and toothless a presence pull it off. It doesn't feel like anything but an ugly, green, humourless Mila Kunis in monster make-up. Funny, charming, gorgeous Mila Kunis (like in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Black Swan, hell, even That '70s Show) is a on-screen persona that brings out a much more comfortable and believable performer in her.

Williams and Weisz are much better, but most of their character's screentime amounts to them each pushing Franco and Kunis towards their next character beats and necessary plot points without being left with much to do on their own. Tony Cox and other comedic bit players are a lot of fun, and similar to Weisz and Williams, Braff's bellhop and Joey King's china girl would've been more interesting if they had much to do after their introductions. But the aforementioned China Girl legs scene is probably the most emotionally compelling scene, and one of the few where Franco seems to entirely commit.

And as much as there are some visually inspired moments that feel outside of Raimi's usual inherent playbook -- the sequence of Glinda's fog engulfing the Emerald City and the subsequent "attack" was probably the most enticing bit in the whole movie for me -- and it altogether doesn't feel like a complete waste of time, The Great And Powerful (whether or not it goes forward as a franchise to build on what's established here) seems content with simply existing as safely as prettily as it needs to in order to deliver to the right demographics instead of resembling interesting artistry. Definitely Raimi's weakest film I've seen.

** / 4.5