Gorgeous visuals! An intriguing tale of another world! Amazing witches and wizards! That is what this movie could've been. Unfortunately, however, this movie is a large disappointment on almost every front.
Plot
The movie follows Oz, a selfish, small-time wizard who works with a traveling circus. One day, a tornado comes through the circus, carrying Oz and his hot air balloon far away, and placing him the strange and wonderful world of Oz, a world which strangely has the same name as him. Oz comes to realize that his coming was foretold, and that his is destined to stop the wicked witch that has been plaguing the land. Along the way, Oz will have to confront his selfish, greedy nature and learn some valuable lessons. The story, although being very basic, manages to be confusing somehow. Several completely unnecessary twists add to the confusion in an attempt to make a complex and intricate plot. It would have been more effective to stick with a more simple, less hole-filled story. Also, there are many characters in this movie, very few of whom receive any development whatsoever. One thing that the movie does that is interesting is that it introduces some elements from The Wizard of Oz (book) that were not present in the movie, such as the town made of fine china and the quadlings. However, correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't The Wizard of Oz a dream? So this movie's story is a prequel to a dream? Doesn't make much sense to me.
Acting/Writing
The acting in this film ranges from passable to cringe-inducing. James Franco as Oz is, while not particularly good, acceptable yet predictable as the self-centered Oz. You really feel his jerkishness in many scenes. Rachel Weisz as Evanora is also fair, delivering some sassy wickedness as one of the two witches of the story. The other witch, however, is not as likeable. Mila Kunis as Theodora is often unbearable. She attempts to be rage-filled and spiteful, but the combination of her awful dialogue and her lack of acting prowess nullifies any good intention that she had. Michelle Williams is not as grating as Kunis, but is so bland that she is instantly forgettable. I can barely remember anything she said in the film. The other characters are forgettable as well, and don't bring anything new or unexpected to the film. So, as a whole, the acting in this movie is subpar.
Visuals/Audio
So, you're probably hoping that the redeeming factor of this movie is its eye-popping visual style, right? Unfortunately, this is not the case. The visuals in this movie look distinctively videogame-ish, and aside from a few scenes, look pretty awful as far as today's movies go. Nothing looks real, and is so unpolished that you can see unfinished work in the CGI in some scenes. The movie does have some interesting visual concepts, such as flowers made out of jewels, but in execution most of these ideas fall through quite badly. As far as the audio goes, the soundtrack was boring and generic adventure movie fare which only is noticeable in a few scenes. The visuals and audio of this movie were deeply disappointing for me, because I thought that if nothing else, this movie would be cool to look at. I was sadly mistaken.
So, as far as adventure movies go, this is a resounding disappointment. Your small children may enjoy this movie, but if you're looking for a truly good movie, look elsewhere. Score:4/10
Content
This movie is very tame as far as negative content goes. Language is at a bare minimum, with only very occasional mild profanities. Violence is also low here; I don't think there are any deaths in the the film. Suggestive content is mild as well, with the only element being that Oz is a bit of a womanizer, and flirting with several women throughout the movie, often at the same time. However, this is portrayed as a negative thing. In all, this movie would be acceptable for children of almost any age. Want a more detailed content description? Visit the link below!
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