Larger text
Smaller text
‘Oz the Great and Powerful’ cast smart, but effects flat
Staff Writer
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Contact Us | Video | RSS | Mobile
‘Oz the Great and Powerful'
★★1⁄2 (out of 4)
PG
Wide release
Daily Photo Galleries
Movies Photo Galleries
By Michael Machosky
Published: Thursday, March 7, 2013, 8:55 p.m.
Updated: Monday, March 11, 2013
In the end, it all comes down to the flying monkeys. It always does.
Disney apparently wasn't pleased with early cuts of the long-awaited, mega-budget “Wizard of Oz” prequel they were making, and decided to expand the all-digital flying monkey character (voiced by Zach Braff).
That's the main problem with “Oz the Great and Powerful.” It's not that monkey sidekick Finley reaches Jar Jar Binks-levels of annoyance. It's that you can almost see the shadowy contours of a great “Wizard of Oz”-worthy movie here, obscured by a fog of overwrought special effects, overcooked plotting and extraneous dialogue.
All the essential moving parts ought to be in place. Director Sam Raimi has gone from low-budget cult horror (“Evil Dead”) to blockbuster superhero action (the “Spider-Man” trilogy) while keeping at least some of his edge. Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz and Mila Kunis are perfectly cast as the witches.
At first, the mercurial, smirking James Franco seems miscast as the lead. But the character isn't supposed to be entirely lovable — he's a sleazy, carnival sideshow con man and parlor-trick magician.
Franco is Oscar “Oz” Diggs, a traveling circus magician in 1905 Kansas, who yearns for greatness. He's also selfish, vain and relishes his skill in tricking credulous farmers and their pretty daughters. He's not a good man, and he knows it.
The early scenes are among the film's most effective, photographed in deep-contrast black and white.
When Oscar's amorous advances on the circus strongman's girl aren't appreciated, he flees in the circus's hot-air balloon — and into a cyclone, which whisks him off to the magical, full-color land of Oz.
Stranded in a strange new land, he meets a beautiful witch, Theodora (Kunis), who immediately assumes that he's the wizard that prophesy has foretold. She takes him to Emerald City, where all he has to do is claim his throne, the kingdom, a room full of gold, and his choice of queen, Theodora or her sister-witch Evanora.
There's one catch — he has to kill the all-powerful Wicked Witch and her army of soldiers and winged monkeys.
The special effects of “Oz,” digital and otherwise, are oddly inert, despite the presence of effects/makeup ace Greg Nicotero (originally from Pittsburgh). One exception is the delicate, childlike China Girl, a computer-generated sidekick picked up along the yellow brick road.
To make “Oz” work well, everything has to look amazing. Instead, it looks good in places, like cutting-room debris from “Avatar” in others, and a candy-coated Katy Perry video in some.
There are a few of Raimi's signature scares scattered here and there, but little of the dark humor and visual wit that he's known for.
Plot holes abound. One involves a key character staying totally oblivious to hundreds of giant, evil, flying monkeys hanging around the Emerald City.
“Oz” doesn't have to be plausible, but its world ought to, at least, make sense on its own terms.
Michael Machosky is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at mmachosky@tribweb.com or 412-320-7901.
Most-Read Movies
- DVD reviews: ‘Oz the Great and Powerful,’ Hansel & Gretel’ and ‘Snitch’
- ‘The End’ could be the last word in apocalypse comedy
- Rogen brings about star-studded ‘End’
- ‘Man of Steel’ not that super, storywise, for some in audience
- Delpy and Hawke hit the relationship wall ‘Before Midnight’
- Superman: Deconstructed but still strong
You must be signed in to add comments
To comment, click the Sign in or sign up at the very top of this page.
Subscribe today! Click here for our subscription offers.
