Oz the Great and Powerful
Starring: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff
At: Delite Diamond & others
Rated: 6/10
Is it greatIJ Is it powerfulIJ Well, Oz, The Great and Powerful is both with plenty of diversions thrown in for good measure with brilliant CGI that is spread on a 70 mm screen. The fact that this one is in 3D means that the viewer has great fun that adds to the wow factor in some scenes.
Added to the fact that the first 10 minutes or so of the movie is in black and white ensures that the audience is spellbound with all the colour that is splashed around in Oz. Director Sami Raimi has kept up his penchant for the carnival (Evil Dead trilogy, the theatrics of Spiderman).
Raimi casts Franco as Oscar Diggs — Oz — with the view to cash in on Franco’s charm and talent. And it is probably here that the director slipped up. Franco as Oz, the young circus magician whose methods are questionable may have played the role with aplomb but unfortunately, he fails to deliver on the madness that one would associate with a book by l Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz, a novel of the 1900s. Also, the story is rather tame. Considering that the movie is all about witches and wizards, it lacks the grandness.
But it doesn’t take away the fact that the costumes are great, the castle is grand and the tiny China girl is cute and steals your heart the minute she makes an appearance.
Over all, this Oz may have its flaws but the graphics makes for it a powerful entertainer.