Jackson Booth-Millard
The Wizard of Oz, based on the novels by L. Frank Baum, is arguably the most popular musical fantasy film of all time, remakes and sequels have followed, with mixed results, this was probably the first prequel, set twenty years before events of the original novel, from director Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, Spider-Man). Basically in 1905 Kansas, Oscar "Oz" Diggs (James Franco) is a small-time magician with a travelling circus, he has been flirting with the wife of the Strongman (Tim Holmes), a storm approaches and the strongman threatens Oscar, he escapes in a hot air balloon, but he is sucked into a tornado that takes him to the Land of Oz. There Oz meets beautiful yet naïve witch Theodora (Mila Kunis), she believes he is the wizard prophesied to become King of Oz by destroying the Wicked Witch who killed the king, Oscar only accepts hearing of the great riches the ruler of Oz will receive. On the journey to the Emerald City, Theodora falls in love with Oscar, but he does not reciprocate her feelings, after saving his life from a lion, they are joined by flying monkey Finley (Zach Braff), who pledges a life debt to Oscar, he reveals his deception to Finley, but the lie that he is a wizard is maintained. At the Emerald City, Oscar meets Theodora's beautiful older sister Evanora (Rachel Weisz), she tells him the Wicked Witch resides in the Dark Forest, she can be destroyed with her own wand, Oscar and Finley travel to find and kill her, and are joined by a young living China Girl (White House Down's Joey King), whose family and home was destroyed by the Wicked Witch. The three reach the Dark Forest, and encounter the "Wicked Witch", the beautiful Glinda (Michelle Williams), who identifies herself as the daughter of the late king, in fact Evanora is the true Wicked Witch. Evanora watches the three in the forest through her crystal ball, she tricks Theodora into thinking Oz has deceived her about any feelings he may have had, Evanora offers Theodora a magic apple she says will help remove her heartache, in fact after biting it, Theodora is transformed into the green-skinned, ugly Wicked Witch of the West. Oscar and his group are brought by Glinda to her domain, away from Evanora's army of Winkies and flying baboons, she admits that she knows Oscar is not a wizard, but she still believes he can defeat Evanora, he reluctantly agrees to lead an army of Quadlings, Tinkers and Munchkins. Theodora enters and reveals her hideous appearance, she threatens to kill Oscar and the people, Oscar despairs that there can be no victory, but then talking about his hero Thomas Edison, he conceives a plan of trickery, Glina and his group make preparations. The witches are tricked into sending out the flying baboons, with scarecrow puppets and thick fog, into the poppy field that puts them to sleep, however two baboons manage to capture Glinda, she is brought into the Emerald City and chained. Meanwhile Oscar infiltrates the Emerald City, but he appears to abandon his allies, flying away in a hot balloon filled with gold, which Theodora destroys with a fireball. The witches prepare to execute Glinda before the large crowd of citizens, but then Oscar appears, using a hidden smoke machine and an image projector, he presents a giant image of his face as his "true" form, the wicked sisters are intimidated by the blasts of fire, and a fireworks display. Unable to hurt the "invincible" wizard, Evanora fearfully hides in the castle, while Theodora flees on her broom, Oscar calls to her and offers her to return should she overcome her wickedness, she angrily refuses and flies away. China Girl releases Gilda, who engages with Evanora in a magical duel, during which Glinda destroys emerald necklace that hides her true, withered appearance, and banishes her, the two remaining baboons carry Evanora away. Oscar is officially established as ruler of Oz, he uses the projector to sustain the belief he is powerful wizard, his friends agree to keep this secret, and he presents them with gifts, finally Oscar takes Glinda behind the curtain to thank her for making him a better person, and they kiss. Also starring Abigail Spencer as May the magic assistant, Bill Cobbs as Master Tinker, Tony Cox as Knuck the grumpy Munchkin herald, Bruce Campbell as Winkie Gate Keeper and Ted Raimi as Skeptic in Audience. Franco is engaging and likable as the con magician turned hero, and Kunis and Weisz really lap up being the beautiful and evil witches, most of the original 1939 movie contents are brought in, from a monochrome opening to the Yellow Brick Road, but no Dorothy or her friends, the brightly coloured scenery and special effects are a real treat for the eye, it is maybe not as magical or emotionally engaging as the classic it pays tribute to, but you can escape with the vibrant fairytale and wonderful characters, a fun family fantasy adventure. Worth watching!
gwnightscream
James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams star in Sam Raimi's 2013 fantasy adaptation of L. Frank Baum's books. This begins in early 1900's Kansas and Franco (Spider-Man) plays Oscar aka Oz, a small-time, circus/carnival magician who is taken to magical kingdom, Oz after being caught in a tornado where he meets new friends and sees bizarre things. After meeting attractive witches, Theodora (Kunis), Evanora (Weisz) and Glinda (Williams), he finds himself in a battle of good & evil testing his magic abilities and proving himself as a powerful wizard for the people of Oz. This is sort of a prequel to the 1939 classic, "The Wizard of Oz" and it's not bad. The cast is OK, there's beautiful visuals and Danny Elfman's score is excellent as usual. Bruce Campbell & Ted Raimi also appear briefly and I recommend giving this a try at least once.
Leofwine_draca
That the original WIZARD OF OZ is a classic is pretty much a given, I think. It's hard to dislike a film that's so full of memorable scenes and characters, and Sam Raimi is the guy behind this prequel that attempts to show us a few back stories about some of the characters in the 1930s film. It's a mixed bag as a film overall, but it does recapture some of the old Raimi magic, and overall it's a film that's hard to dislike.Certainly in a world of lacklustre ALICE IN WONDERLAND and CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY adaptations, OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL really stands out. The transition from black and white to full colour is a glorious one and the enhanced colour palette of the film really works. The whole journey is a visual treat, with excellent CGI backdrops and the like that really bring Oz to life in a way that in some cases is even more breath-taking than in WIZARD.The central characters and their storyline are a little weaker, but still more than watchable. I'm a bit ambivalent when it comes to James Franco but I can appreciate that he does a good and thorough job here as the roguish magician thrown into a decidedly unnatural adventure. His companions in Oz are very well animated and brimming with character. Sadly, the witch storyline isn't so good; Michelle Williams is surprisingly effective, but Mila Kunis is miscast and Rachel Weisz is just poor. Nonetheless, although OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL has its detractors, I think it's a lot of simple, old-fashioned fun.
