Before I begin my review I have to say that on My list of all time great movies, the original Wizard of Oz, is on my top five. Of course to try and expand on a near perfect story would be nearly impossible which is why it will never be remade. To avoid obvious pitfalls, this prequel tries to fill in the back story of how the Wizard got to the Land of Oz in the first place. The promotion for this film began months ago with spectacular trailers highlighting the CG special effects which are, well, pretty spectacular. So I made a mental note that I would "have" to see this film on opening day. You can view this film in 2d, 3d, and IMAX 3d. If you want to save a few bucks, 2d is just fine. (a little cinema trivia: The very first IMAX film was introduced at the World's Fair in Spokane back in 1974!)
Now on to the movie. In a nod to the original, the film opens in black and white, at a small travelling circus in Kansas. (is Kansas really that drab?) Oscar Diggs is the resident magician and erstwhile conman who's specialty is stealing women's' hearts. He has a routine whereby he makes a present to a woman of a music box that belonged to his dear departed grandmother. In actuality he has dozens. These opening scenes should be very funny but James Franco, who plays Diggs/Oz, just can't pull it off. It's not for lack of trying but the harder he tries the less humorous it becomes. I think that may be the underlying problem with Oz, it just tries too hard. Through a series of events he ends up being chased by the circus strongman and makes his escape with the help of a hot air balloon. Of course he gets sucked into a twister because that is, after all, the only way one can get to the Land of Oz. Oz is a world of incredible color and surrealistic beauty thanks to the computer graphics.
I think that may the be the real star of the film. I found all the actors to be flat and miscast. The evil witches, not very scary. Glinda, while beautiful, boring. Even the Wizard himself, not very wonderful. This made the movie plod along as if it were following the yellow brick road. The final third of the film really picks up the pace but by then I really didn't care. It was just too late to elevate the movie beyond it's eyecandy status. I also found the story to be just too simplistic as an attempt to fill in the back story. The broadway musical Wicked does a much better job of that. I don't want to spend time comparing this to the original but what really made that film a classic was the characters and the songs. This film really has none of that going for it. With flat lifeless characters, one song that lasts about a minute, and a sagging script: the most compelling points of the movie are the special effects and the animated characters. That is sad considering the potential to make a memorable movie. With a more engaging story arc Oz should leave the viewer with a sense of joy, hope, and wonder. Instead I thought it was a fun experience but in the end disapointing.
Not a bad date movie.
I give this film a solid: B
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