Director: Sam Raimi.
Starring: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz, Zach Braff, Joey King.
Running Time: 130 minutes.
Certificate: PG.
Synopsis: A crafty magician named Oscar Diggs is whisked away from a travelling circus in his native Kansas to the faraway land of Oz where he is mistaken to be their wonderful wizard.
It’s hard to believe that Sam Raimi has just fifteen directoral features to his name, with three of those being the Tobey Maguire SPIDER-MAN trilogy. In just over twenty-five years, Raimi has transformed himself from the director of a low-budget horror series to a go-to director for Walt Disney. His EVIL DEAD movies gained him an army of die-hard cult fans in the 1980s, and he won over the comic book geeks with the aforementioned Spidey franchise. Now, in his first family film post-Parker, Disney have entrusted him with taking hold of the beloved world of Oz, seemingly taking the same punt with him as they did with Tim Burton for the mammoth box-office muncher, ALICE IN WONDERLAND.
The latest Oz film begins with high promise as we’re presented with a good portion of the first reel in 4:3 black-and-white film stock – think the Oscar winning THE ARTIST. Raimi uses this opportunity to gently nod to the films of the 1930s and 40s, while at the same time making full use of the technology at his fingertips. The opening sequence at the Kansas circus uses the 3D format better than we’ve seen it used before, with the subtle use of black edging either side of the main frame greatly enhancing the experience.
As the film rolls on and the black-and-white framework disappears, we’re transported into the wonderful and very colourful widescreen world of Oz. Where the black bars vanish, so does a lot of the film’s charm, but this is through no fault of the four main players. The Wizard himself, James Franco, and the three witches played by Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams all give solid performances, but it fails in its drawn-out plot and tediously long, effects-laden sequences – something which that darned awful Tim Burton adaptation suffered from too.
Zach Braff’s flying monkey, Finley, is the source of many laugh out loud moments on the journey down the Yellow Brick Road and it’s great to see Bill Cobb back on the big screen, but this visit to Oz is too long and fails to hold the attention of adults, let alone younger viewers. Though it works in many places, OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL unfortunately falls flat on its face, belonging in the ever growing movie bracket that reads, ‘It’s just okay,’ which for a Disney film of its chosen title with Sam Raimi’s name above it, just isn’t good enough.
OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL is released in UK and US cinemas on March 8th.
