Oz: The Great and Powerful

Disney's long awaited Oz: The Great and Powerful finally reached theaters this past weekend. This is the prequel to the story that we grew up loving: The Wizard of Oz. Just how did the Wizard get to Oz? That question and more is answered in the film. Staying true to The Wizard of Oz, the film starts in black and white and transitions to color only in the land of Oz. While this movie is visually stunning, it falls victim to a horrible script. Not even the actors could save it. 

Oz is a cheating magician out to achieve greatness. He cons women into helping with his act at each stop of the traveling circus. When the husband of one of the women catches up to him, he narrowly escapes by way of hot air ballon but takes off into a tornado. He is transported to Oz and meets Theodora, the good witch. She explains to him how Oz has fallen to an evil witch and the King's prophecy states the city will be saved by a wizard with the same name as the city. 

I truthfully did not expect a great performance from James Franco. He perfectly hit my expectations with his lackluster performance. He seemed dazed and distant throughout the entire movie. Not even the lovely Michelle Williams, who played Glinda, could save his performance. She seemed to be trying too hard to put life into the film. Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz were over dramatic in their roles as the witches. The acting just brought light to the bad script. The screenplay for Oz was filled with cheesy lines that just made me role my eyes. It was ripe with sexual innuendos that seemed to be the only thing Franco was excited to say. It was far from the best screenplay. 

One thing that stood out in the film was the style. Visually, this was stunning. Both the stylistic black and white opening and the land of Oz were breathtaking to watch. The film was directed Sam Raimi. He is beat known for the Spider-Man Trilogy. I saw the film in 3D, which I would definitely recommend for this film. This movie did have a lot of things popping out of the screen. It would be too scary for young children (it even was for me sometimes). If you wanted to see this film, I would suggest seeing it in theaters. If not, it's not worth the time.