I wouldn't necessarily say that I was excited to see Oz the Great and Powerful, but that's not to suggest I thought it looked bad. My feelings on the actual film fall somewhere along the same line. Oz the Great and Powerful never quite achieves greatness, but director Sam Raimi brings enough charm to the production to brighten it up, even if it never quite shines. I resent the notion that big budgeted, tentpole films are nothing more than giant commercials but if there was any studio I could associate with that idea, it's Disney. So, it's nice to see the film get elevated from that low level.
To my surprise, the most enjoyable moments in the film come early on, before the trip to Oz. Our time spent in Kansas, which probably amounts to lower than twenty minutes, lays the groundwork for the film's major theme: greatness. It's a theme that's about as old as The Wizard of Oz itself, but the way Raimi sets the stage is so exciting and full of life that I completely bought into the idea of seeing this cliché of a plot device acted out for me again. The opening scenes also features gorgeous cinematography, an entertaining magic show sequence and some solid acting from it's cast, many of whom play dual roles in both Kansas and Oz a la the original. Yet, once the Wizard makes his move from black and white into the world of color, some of that charm gets lost amidst the special effects and stale plot.
As I expected, the story of how the vain and selfish carnival magician became a good wizard was incredibly predictable and formulaic, with just the right amount of drama, comedy and action to please the masses. Save for a few dramatic sequences that come off a bit overwrought, the blending of genres works fairly well. But, the film gets far too jumbled as it bounces around between the three witches at the center, with far too much time spent with Mila Kunis' Theodora, and not enough time spent with Rachel Weisz's Evanora. These pacing issues are especially troubling after it becomes clear that Michelle Williams' Glinda is the most important of the trio, but the filmmakers wait almost an hour before introducing her.
This also brings up my other major problem with the film: it's too long. A convoluted storyline is made even worse when it seems to take an eternity finding out where it's going. The film spends too much time with characters that aren't important at all, throws in a second villain halfway through that just doesn't serve much of a purpose, and drags out the film's final battle to a point where I eventually stopped caring. I can't really say if this is a problem found in the editing room or in the script itself but, regardless, it's a problem that should have been addressed.
The performances in this film are uniformly solid, however, and it's clear that many of the actors involved are enjoying themselves, which made the film itself all the more enjoyable for me. James Franco is far from my favorite actor, but he never grated on my nerves this time and actually seemed like a solid fit to play the wizard. Weisz and Williams are also clearly having a lot of fun as their respective witches, hamming it up just enough so their performances never border on camp. Meanwhile, Zach Braff's voice work in the film only reinforces my belief that a voice acting category should be added to the Academy Awards. Hidden behind a CGI monkey, Braff's voice and unmistakable personality shine through, allowing him to steal the movie. The sole weak link is Kunis, though I certainly wouldn't blame her. Kunis does her very best with the material she's given, but shoddy script work hurts her performance.
The film's special effects are also absolutely astounding. Coupled with some truly impressive 3D, my eyes remained permanently glued to the screen, even as I found myself growing tired of this adventure in Oz. I was reminded of the special effects in Avatar with the way that Raimi creates a whole world to look at as opposed to just a giant CGI figure or two. There are also some great, practical sets that help balance out the visuals in the film, making the overall experience enjoyable even during it's weaker moments.
I wouldn't say that Oz the Great and Powerful is a bad film, though I can't say I'm itching to watch it again. It's a film that I've seen, and I'm happy I saw it, but my life remains unchanged now that I've seen it. Beautiful visuals aside, nothing really stands out amidst the somewhat bland story. But, if you're looking to take a nice trip to the movies, you can do much worse than a return to the city of Oz.
OVERALL GRADE: C+
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