Oz: The Great and Powerful

When I think Wizard of Oz, one of the first words to come to my mind is tangible. Oz feels like a living, breathing, existing place. It's a place that I can wish to be, want to go, and yet it's sinister enough to understand that paradise isn't perfect. It's another world, not necessarily a distant one. And most importantly, it's one I don't necessarily have to take that seriously. I can smile at the evil, have fun with the wicked witch. All of this was missing from this particular journey to Oz.

I was so disappointed with what I saw. I wanted a whimsical, fun script with a lot of heart and great symbolism. What I got was lackluster, lazy, and in some places, pretty darn awful. To write a prequel to one of the most highly regarded films of all time with such laziness was incredibly upsetting. I'd compare it to the script from the Sam Raimi Spider-man. But that would do Spider-man a disservice, for at least it had heart and style. You get so sick of the awful speeches about hope and finding oneself, you wanna gag yourself by the end of it.

The original Wizard of Oz was packed with likable characters and spot on performances, ones that you can't look back on and replace. This...wasn't. It's packed with unlikable characters, ones I never want to remember. The Wizard is a con-artist who by the end, learns nothing from his journey. His two friends, a flying monkey and a girl made of glass, are both annoying and horrendously unlikable. You really want them both to disappear rather quickly. Mila Kunis gives probably the worst performance we have ever seen from her, both early and later in the movie. I always liked Michelle Williams, until we saw "Take This Waltz," where it was proven that she could screw up big time. This is another example. What an absolutely obnoxious, dumb-blonde portrayal of what could be an incredibly strong character.

That brings me to another point - the worst part of this movie. The witches. Wow. What horrendously written examples of female characters. Here we have three women all in total control of the entire world they live in. And what drives them to evil? Love. Jealousy. Petty nonsense. This is just proving to the Kings of the Medieval feudal system that they were right - women can't rule. And it's not like it comes across as an accident or mistake of writing - it feels just so terrible, so lackluster. I saw so many elements to lead this movie to greatness that just fell apart. It's a real shame.

Some people will say that the movie at least looked good, but I have to disagree. Somehow, even with all the advanced technology, Oz felt small, not nearly as impressive as the original. And this is with better technology, the ability to make enormous worlds like the one we found in Avatar.

All in all, this is an enormous disappointment, with very little magic or anything powerful enough to make it comparable to the original. Terrible performances, mediocre effects, lackluster  magic and obnoxious music make this to be an all but unbearable experience. I was incredibly disappointed.

RANK: 1/5