As for this new Oz movie well it's not that Great nor is it very powerful and you know something its boring, I sat there bored out of my mind for the most part and being constantly reminded of the original Wizard of Oz as I kept watching, for example:
- The opening is in black and white and full frame, just like in the original
- Michelle Williams pops up in that segment and has that same wide eyed look that Dorothy had, just like in the original
- There's the yellow brick road and the wicked witch, just like in the original
And finally there's the nature of Oz himself that was just like the original was, now I know that this is all required given that this film leads into that film but that film is one of the most beloved films of all time and has inspired countless generations as well as some of the world's top filmmakers.
But aside from all of that let me just say this, most of this movie as I said is a bore to watch as there's very little wonder to the land of Oz this time as it's all just really bland CGI that you can see through almost right away and just kept reminding me of the world of Pandora in Avatar which to my mind feels much more like a modern day land of Oz with all the wonder and majesty and imagination that comes with it but then that film was directed by James Cameron and this was directed by Sam Raimi.
And to build on that point I found Raimi's direction very lacking and lacklustre, I mean I've heard that Raimi has this way with the camera very few directors do but here as was the case with his Spider-Man movies it's not here, it was there in Drag Me to Hell and I loved that film but here he's just going through the motions whereas Cameron's Avatar feels like a proper big screen spectacle that has heart, imagination and excitement, all three of which are missing big time in this movie.
And as for the story well it seems very disconnected and rather forgettable as it just does the usual thing of ancient prophecies of the chosen one who will come and free the land from a great evil that rules it all and that the chosen one will be the most unlikely person imaginable and as for the magic show at the beginning of the film all it did was make me think of "Arabian Nights" from Aladdin.
As for Franco well he's okay but I couldn't help but think that it should've been Robert Downey Jr in this role as was originally planned, I mean who better than to play this character than him given that Oz is a trickster and a con artist, we've seen how Downey can completely own a role with his work as Tony Stark and this film could've really benefited from his charisma and presence as Franco does not deliver in this role and as a result the film as a whole feels empty.
But those that do are the best things about this movie and they are Williams who reminds you a lot of Dorothy from the original film with her wide eyed optimism and sense of wonder, Jodi King as the little China Girl and Zach Braff as the flying monkey servant, all three of them are very good and help to get you interested in what is going on in the movie.
Rachel Weisz and Mila Kunis meanwhile are simply okay, Weisz is the better of the two and tries to do something with her role but Kunis is just bland and as far as I'm concerned only here because she's a young gorgeous A list star who appeals to the geeks out there and who can also help sell tickets when outside of comedy roles she's not that good of an actress and here it shows at times.
So yeah, I was not a huge fan of this new Oz movie, it's an empty, heartless, bland and boring fantasy movie that is simply not worth anyone's time or money, rent the original Wizard of Oz and Avatar instead as those are very much worth your time and money instead, 1 out of 5.
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