Oz: The Great And Powerful Review

Can Sam Raimi's latest visual spectacle top the wonders of the 1939 classic?
Legacy- it's a tough thing to deal with, isn't it? Certainly, when the likes of Tim Burton and Joe Johnston have recently failed to ignite fan passions with their remakes of Alice In Wonderland and The Wolfman, it's not difficult to see why few motion picture directors attempt such productions these days. Nevertheless, Sam Raimi's Oz: The Great And Powerful has undertaken an ambitious mission, prompting Disney to enter prequel territory around one of the most popular classic fantasy films of all time.

I'm all for answering the big questions first, so let's get that proverbial elephant standing on the edge of the tornado out of the way- can Raimi possibly top 1939's classic The Wizard Of Oz? Not quite. There's definitely a profound confidence on the writer and director's part to take the franchise as a whole into new territory, with the narrative reaching a couple of conceptual beats that we've never explored before, yet tonally this is a diverse and often imbalanced piece of cinema. We're swept from dazzling sepia camera homages to fantasy exploration romps to comedy hijinks to inter-family turmoil in the first half hour alone, and later on in the second act it becomes inevitable that the more emotive parts of the storyline suffer as a result.

Nevertheless, Oz packs a brilliant cast to support its narrative even in the somewhat mediocre times of need. James Franco has proved his worth as a performer in films such as Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and 127 Hours these past couple of years, and he clearly knows the kind of younger audience he's playing to here, which allows his portrayal of Oscar 'Oz' Diggs to stay consistent in its arrogant and self-reflective guise. There's plenty of reflection for the viewer with elements of our own psyche and moral compass in Oz, something which again is a feat unaccomplished by its original predecessor. Mila Kunis is additionally a superb lead for Franco to bounce off in the first half, even if her role is somewhat diluted beyond the film's 65 minute midway point. Fans of Scrubs will even notice Zach Braff has a dual role in both Kansas and Oz here too, a neat surprise to be sure.

Just as Burton was the perfect directorial choice on Disney's part for their new Alice, so too does the man behind the original Spider-Man film trilogy do wonders visually with Oz. What separates the former dismal and the latter strong remakes of classic flicks is that The Great And Powerful blends its stunning CGI elements and rather impressive 3D effects with a cohesive and structured narrative in a manner that should impress teen and adult viewers just as much as kids will be wowed by the action-packed setpieces and the trademark Disney humour on display. It would be fair to say that should this entry develop into a franchise (and given the brilliant opening weekend sales, don't be surprised if that's the case), then its visual setpieces could easily start to rival Harry Potter in scale.

With Oz: The Great And Powerful, then, we're left with a piece of cinema that's often as tonally misguided as its protagonist's actions and illusions. Despite its shortcomings and missteps, though, Oz does the fine job of elevating Disney's live-action efforts back up to a level the studio can be truly proud of today. It would be impossible to match The Wizard Of Oz's sheer awe and brilliance, but in terms of kicking off a new franchise, it's testament to the success of this flick that this is the closest any filmmaker has come to that achievement!
3.5/5