Oz the Great and Powerful

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 2:44pm

The theater was packed this morning, but there wasn't much reaction from the crowd as this dud played out on the screen. I didn't have high hopes, but was curious given David Lindsay-Abaire co-wrote the screenplay.

All four of the leads are miscast. Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams are so much better than their performances in this. Mila is embarrassingly bad. I actually am a big fan of hers; she has an easy charisma and doesn't try to hard, but in Oz there's no way to describe her but a hot mess. Franco is semi-stoned.

All the magic of Oz is gone because everything is so painfully shot in front of a green screen with CGI. The magic feels as fake as the wizard, and I don't think the film is trying to be that "meta."

There were a few moments here and there that were well done, but overall I kept thinking about how Peter Jackson so brilliantly brought Middle Earth to life, and that's what was needed here. I'd love someone to go back to the Baum books and make a series of movies, but until then we're stuck with this.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 3:05pm

Well, this is depressing. A couple of my friends are WOO freaks and they both LOVED LOVED LOVED it.

Makes me wonder...

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 3:12pm

So I guess it will hit Broadway as a musical in 2016? What's Julie Taymor doing these days?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 3:24pm

I love The Wizard of Oz a lot too. I spent every summer of my youth reading the first fourteen Oz books over again (through Glinda of Oz). My parents bought me the Del Ray set with illustrations and I was obsessed with them. Ozma of Oz was my favorite, and even though I loved the Judy Garland version I always wished each book could have been turned into a faithful movie adaptation. (My mom made me a Jack Pumpkinhead costume for Halloween one year too- I was a very nerdy Oz fan)

It was nice to hear references from the books mentioned in The Great and Powerful, like the Quadlings, but they got all the details wrong. The Quadlings live in the South and wear mostly only red. They don't live anywhere near the Munchkins either.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 3:31pm

I'm actually sorry to hear this sucks.

Updated On: 3/9/13 at 03:31 PM

[James885]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 3:34pm

Saw it last night. My thoughts were basically summed up as "meh". James Franco pretty much overacted his way through the entire movie. It didn't help that for most of the story, his character was pretty unlikeable.

Rachel Wiesz was probably the best out of the bunch. Her performance was the most grounded.

I liked a lot of the nods to the original Wizard of Oz film as well as the books. I do agree that the look of the film felt very fake.


MAJOR SPOILER BELOW!!!!









I liked Mila Kunis's performance up until she became the 'wicked witch'. After that it went so far south that there was no recovery. All she did was yell and scream and mug at the camera.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 3:36pm

Who knew the future would look so much like Lidsville?


"All the magic of Oz is gone because everything is so painfully shot in front of a green screen with CGI."

Updated On: 3/9/13 at 03:36 PM

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 3:36pm

i saw a sneak preview of this a few days ago... the movie just wasn't magical enough for me... i did enjoy the performances and i loved the little China Doll... but the movie as a whole was quite boring at times...

oh and as most movies these days... the 3D was pretty pointless... ugh when will Hollywood learn how to actually USE 3D correctly! Updated On: 3/9/13 at 03:36 PM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 3:37pm

I found the whole thing dull and lifeless. The first 45 minutes are interminably boring.

Mila Kunis spends the entire film after her "transformation" yelling. Michelle Williams is phoning it in. James Franco appeared lost.

I actually enjoyed Rachel Weisz and Zach Braff, both of whom were at least having some fun.

Spoiler......

Why was the transformation of Theodora to the Wicked Witch some bizarre homage to Snow White? An apple? Really?

.....end spoiler


Were I not at a fork and screen showing and eating the entire time, I would have fallen asleep.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 3:47pm

My childhood membership to the International Wizard of Oz fanclub will not allow me to miss this--but it's too bad to read Whizzer's review which pretty much addresses all my worries. The last thing Oz needs is yet another prequel (even if many of the fan published ones barely made the mainstream,) but I had some hopes after reading about Raimi and Franco's genuine affection and knowledge of the Baum books--and not just another Wonderland-tupe appropriation.

[finebydesign]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 4:22pm

Saw it... I'm not sad I as I wish I was. I knew from most of the trailer it was going to look like TB's Alice in Wonderland. I guess I wish I had some suspension of disbelief that the world was real at all.

It was bloated. I did enjoy the nods to the cannon but overall just uninterested. I know Garland's was shot on a sound stage too, but at least there were songs! Here everything just feels so contrived.

The WWW costume was cool.

That monkey was creepy.

Imagine a child's surprise watching this back-to-back with the Garland "sequel". The original was just so free of cynicism and follow the hero's journey perfectly. I can still remember being terrified for Dorothy and thinking they would NEVER get to Oz.


Hmm I think my favorite new Oz thing in the past decade is that Tim Rice lyric / Webber son "The Wonders of the World"

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 5:12pm

I saw it yesterday morning and there was so much potential in it. I liked the basic outline of the story but there was just something about the script/dialogue that was very off-putting. It just felt oddly contemporary (not sure if that's the right word, but it's the closest I can think of at the moment).

And I'm sure that James Franco will wildly divide the audiences. Those who are not already fans of his are not going to be swayed, and those who are already fans of his will continue to love him because he does exactly what he always does.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 5:31pm

I'll post my thoughts again. It started off kind of slow but by the middle it got interesting. I thought it was fine and I might have to go back and see it again sometime to have a full opinion. The visual effects and 3-D are very impressive. A familiar quote came back to me, "Only bad witches are ugly" after Evanora was defeated by Glinda. So, Evanora's true looks were revealed at the end of the movie. Also, I would take this movie and 'Journey Back to Oz' any day after that spooky 'Return to Oz'.

Updated On: 3/9/13 at 05:31 PM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 6:24pm

Is this another John Carter?

[adamgreer]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 7:07pm

^No, the film is apparently going to make around $80 million this weekend.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 7:16pm

Jack the Giant Slayer is this year's John Carter.

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 7:18pm

How does the plot compare to Wicked, the musical?

Does a Wicked film even make sense now? Aren't they basically the same thing?

[BroomstickBoy]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 7:32pm

Do we find out why she's green? Or is it just the end result of whatever it is that makes her wicked?

It doesn't sound likely judging from the reviews...but I'm just curious, being a big Wizard of OZ nut...who actually liked Return to Oz.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 7:58pm

The plot doesn't resemble Wicked at all.

They do explain why she's green, but obviously SPOILERS if you don't want to know.

There are three witches in this Oz. Glinda (Williams), Theodora (Kunis) and Evanora (Weisz).

When Franco arrives he is met by Theodora who tells him Oz is under the rule of the Wicked Witch (Glinda). She poisoned her father and tried to take over the throne. She has been banished and is living outside the Emerald City trying to regain power.

Of course it really wasn't Glinda, but Evanora who poisoned the king and framed Glinda. Evanora tricks Theodora into believing that Franco is in love with Glinda, which triggers her jealousy. Evanora gives Theodora a magic green apple to eat which will cause her heart to shrink. This has an unexpected side effect of turning her green. Evanora and Theodora then team up to take out Glinda and Franco and conquer all of Oz.

[Taryn]

Posted: 3/9/13 at 10:26pm

Thank God a man can come in and sort out all these lady problems.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/10/13 at 12:44am

I saw it tonight and was mostly unimpressed. I really wanted to love it so much, but all I kept thinking was "I wish I was watching the 1939 OZ."

My biggest problem with the film is that there is too much going on, but simultaneously there is a major lack of magic and wonder in this Oz. It is in desperate need of some smart, joyful humor. The whole thing is just too much of the wrong thing. And what really blows my mind is how much more you buy into the original 1939 OZ, over this bloated $300 million dollar CGI fest. Fantasy in film doesn't have to be CGI-ed to death in order to work or be believable.

I agree the casting is completely off. James Franco is by far the worst of the four leads. Robert Downey Jr. was the original choice and you can almost picture how great he would have been. Franco is horrible. I love Kunis, Weisz, and Williams but they are all pretty bland. Zach Braff does some nice voice-over work as Finley, a character that could have easily become this OZ's Jar Jar Binks.

I do have to say I appreciated the fact that there was a plot and it drove the film home, ultimately. What I mean is that I was glad the film wasn't ENTIRELY style over substance (like that horrid ALICE IN WONDERLAND.) I just wish they would've spent as much time developing the story as they did on the CGI and the "look" of the film. Because this really could have been special. I know theyve already announced a sequel and I hope they take note of the general consensus of the critics who seem to agree with most of what has been said in here.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 3/10/13 at 3:55pm

I found nothing to dislike about this film, except that, like 99.9% of films made in the last decade or so, it needed better editing. I think the cast is fine, the effects are tremendous, and the score is appropriate. Oddly, though, the most human moments come from a computer generated flying monkey and a girl made of china.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/10/13 at 6:39pm

James885 --- I agree with everything you said.

And eatlasagna -- that's because the magic really lies with the human discovery of it, not in the magic itself.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/10/13 at 6:42pm

Thank God a man can come in and sort out all these lady problems.

This is the biggest "blasphemy" to the original Oz books, because it was exactly the opposite to what L. Frank Baum wrote.

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 3/10/13 at 6:43pm

This is expected to have an 80+million debut weekend, with domestic in take at about a 125 million total.