Oz the Great and Powerful

One could be forgiven for thinking Oz the Great and Powerful was yet another contemporary fairytale adaptation. Sandwiched between Hansel and Gretel and Jack the Giant Slayer, Oz is instead a prequel to the original classic, The Wizard of Oz - arguably one of the greatest fairy-tales of all time.
Oz also represents a return to the cinema for Sam Raimi. Despite a few false starts ( Spider-man 4/ World of Warcraft) Raimi's attachment to the film is what sparked this particular reviewers interest!

Oz the Great and Powerful recounts the early days of the self-proclaimed magician as he struggles to make ends meat as a member of the Baum Bros circus. Oz is well versed in showmanship and trickery and when he's not wowing crowds, he's seducing any attractive young woman who happens to cross his path. When a colleague discovers his own wife has fallen for Oz's charms, Oz has no alternative but to flee in his hot-air balloon - and it's off to the land of Oz we go!
Paying homage to the original, the film begins in black and white, then by way of destructive tornado, we are whisked away to the land of Oz - where the technicolor vistas come thick and fast!

As with the original Wizard of Oz, our hero meets some truly remarkable characters along his way. A porcelain girl and a flying monkey accompany Oz on his journey, while three witches help and hinder our hero in equal measure.
Despite his charms, Oz is far from perfect. The consequences of his actions back home are quickly dwarfed by the challenges he faces in the land of his namesake.

Played very nicely by James franco, Oz discovers he has been heralded as the returning great Wizard - summoned by the people of Oz to protect them from the tyranny of the wicked witch of the west.
Franco is ably supported by Joey King and Zach Braff as the china girl and bellhop monkey, respectively. The three witches are played with great versatility by three stunning actresses of contemporary cinema; Rachel Weisz (Evanora), Michelle Williams (Glinda) and Mila Kunis (Theodora).

Known to most as the director of the original Spider-man and Evil Dead trilogies, Sam Raimi reigns in his penchant for the absurd and delivers his most commercial and family friendly film to date.
There are still flourishes of inventiveness abound - often delivered with bombast by the ever effective Raimi-cam!

Over-all the film is an unexpected delight. Like the original Wizard of Oz, the Great and Powerful is a deeply moralistic tale, with many a lesson to be learnt.
The film is steeped in nostalgia, with love and respect for it's predecessor.

3/5


Poster image courtesy: www.empireonline.com