Topic: OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL review by Dorkman
In my earliest years — and I mean, literally starting about the time I learned to speak — I kept three movies in constant rotation. Anyone who has kids, or has family who has kids, knows how they are. They find something they like and the idea they might like some other thing just as much simply never occurs to them.
The first film in the rotation was ANNIE. The second — to no one’s surprise — was GHOSTBUSTERS. And the third was THE WIZARD OF OZ. I watched them over and over, memorizing every line and moment, even if in my toddlerhood I had little idea what any of it actually meant. According to my dad, when the Wicked Witch of the West — my favorite character — got on her broom and flew around, I would jump up and run around the house, cackling away. I don’t remember this, but I do have pictures of myself at the age of three or so in a Wicked Witch Halloween costume, and I’m still a spaz about movies in much the same way, so the story checks out.
Rewatching the film in recent years, I was struck by the curiosity of how it might be updated with modern technology. I quickly decided there was no merit in remaking THE WIZARD OF OZ specifically, but a sequel or prequel would be interesting. So when I heard a project exploring the origins of the Wizard himself was in the works — with no less than Robert Downey, Jr. in talks to play the young humbug — I started paying attention.
RDJ declined, and so Sam Raimi directs James Franco as Oscar “Oz” Diggs, a circus magician unable to leave the deceptions and illusions on the stage. When he runs afoul of the circus strongman by hitting on his girlfriend, he escapes his (probably deserved) pummelling by stealing the circus’ hot air balloon and floating away. Unfortunately, he floats right into a twister, which transports him — as Kansas twisters are apparently wont to do — to the Technicolor land of Oz.
In homage to the 1939 MGM picture (which, despite the opening title card acknowledging the works of L. Frank Baum, influenced this film far more than the books did), the film starts out in 4:3 black and white. The homage is purely superficial, however, as no attempt is made to emulate the shooting style, personality, or sensibilities of the period. In this way, it sets the tone and audience expectations appropriately, but not, I think, in the way it was intended.
The opening segment, particularly a scene involving a performance of Oz’s magic show, seems convinced it’s terribly witty when it’s really just obnoxious. Raimi’s slapsticky, adolescent sense of humor, with unfunny gags that drag on and on, is in full effect throughout the film. I gather that Raimi and Franco have a lot of fun working together, and bully for them — but much of the film feels like they’re just goofing off and cameras happen to be rolling. Franco, a solid actor given the right material and direction, never seems more than half in character, and on a couple of occasions I swear he seemed to be glancing at Raimi just off camera as if to say “How was that? Was that funny?” It plays more like college kids doing sketch comedy for YouTube than a $200 million follow-up to an all-time classic film.
Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, and Mila Kunis all do their best with what they’re given, although when Mila Kunis’ Theodora transforms into the green-skinned, pointy-nosed Wicked Witch of the West (in a scene which seems to briefly forget which classic story we’re letting down), it just goes all the way over the top and becomes amateur scene-chewing in Halloween make-up. When it comes to the supernatural, and especially supernatural evil, Raimi seems unable to step out of the absurdist EVIL DEAD mold. Which is a problem. Because when he insists on making his antagonists ridiculous — when he can’t take them seriously — it’s nigh impossible for me to take them seriously and engage in the stakes of the story.
It’s particularly disappointing because I feel like there’s a solid script somewhere at the foundation of the film — aside from its reliance on the wearisome “prophecy of the savior” trope. Written out as a beat sheet, the plot moves along at a good pace and each scene builds on the last, and there are several unexpected set-ups and interesting reversals and pay-offs. But it’s badly let down by the sluggish, indulgent direction and generally weak performances.
The real stars, of course, are the visual effects, and if they mostly feel cartoony that’s almost certainly a deliberate stylistic choice, and it’s especially forgivable given the sheer volume and scale of the work. I thought the simulation work — such as a whitewater rapids sequence when Oz first arrives, and a magical fog bank conjured by Glinda — was especially impressive, but the stand-out effect to me was China Girl, a living porcelain doll who looked absolutely perfect in her imperfections. I was impressed by how well the animation nailed the jankiness of a marionette, and was pleased to discover they’d actually had a marionette on-set providing the “performance” for reference. An original yet wholly appropriate character, China Girl was the only character who felt like she belonged in a story about Oz.
Overlong and mistaking smarm for charm, OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL — like Burton’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND — is probably going to make a mint, and continue this trend of making premakequelboots of various classic properties. If you’re the type to complain about every movie being derivative crap, wait for video if you must see it at all, because the runaway successes of movies like this are why we can’t have nice things.
