The Case for Ozzy

Oz the Great and Powerful is every inch the kiddie Disney film.

Perhaps that is not all that surprising really considering it is a prequel to the 1930s Wizard of Oz, and there are lots of nods to movies of that era, with the actors hamming it up a lot of the time and casting aside the subtlety and depth that has characterised many of their performances, and with the film starting in square monochrome and then, as the story shifts to Oz, turning into brilliant technicolour.

The film is visually extraordinary, though disappointingly the wonderful 3D features become, in 2D, a bit blurry and hazy and rather a disappointment.  But there are only a few scenes that have been obviously constructed to make the most of 3D technology.  

Its  pity then that the film starts off rather painfully and slowly then.  As much as i think James Franco, Zach Braff, Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis and Rachel Weiss are wonderful - indeed they are the reasons I chose to see the film - I could not get past the very slow and painfully obvious plot as Oz makes his slow and painfully obvious way to the Emerald City and has his encounter with the Wicked Witch.

Quite why he encounters the Wicked Witch in the Dark Forrest, where she doesn't really have a reason to be besides the fact it is an evil place to hang out, is never really explained, nor is how the populace of Oz seems to be ignorant of the nature of the struggle going on around them - until of course the whole nefarious plot has been revealed.

Yep, it irritated me a lot and I was, about midway through the film, convinced that I would hate it and also that the overreactor near me was going to explode if anything cuter than a doll or scarier than an explosion ever appeared (irritating!).  However - and yes, this surprised me too - the film kind of redeemed itself.

Once it got past the set up and the story settled in to the battle, it all got pretty exciting and interesting.  Mila Kunis stopped being sweet (though she is; did you see that interview with the young BBC reporter?):



As I was saying, she stopped being sweet and started screaming a lot as the action got more intense (though unfortunately she sounded a lot like Meg Griffin to me, which is awesome in itself).  Franco didn't stop being a confident, sleazy charmer (he does that so well), and Williams and Weiss get harder and fiercer and their showdown is pretty awesome too.

Overall then, I finished off with a positive experience of the movie.  I don't know if I could bring myself to watch it again, considering the beginning, but I can definitely recommend the end.  Wizard!

Verdict:  Oz the Great and Powerful is not a resounding success, but a bit like the Wizard himself, is a bit of a sham but can make a great show when it brings out the smoke and mirrors.  The cast itself is magnificent despite the tortured start of the film, and even with some cloying scenes designed to elicit your sympathy (those always annoy me), it still ends up being a pretty good film.  Kind of.  7 Rainbows over 10.