When Oscar Diggs, a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant land of Oz, he thinks he's hit the jackpot--fame and fortune are his for the taking--that is until he meets three witches, who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing Oz, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late.
Rating: PG Running Time: 2hr 7min
*There is no stinger after the credits
*There is no stinger after the credits
Estimated Video Release: August 2013
RottenTomatoes: 61% My Rating: 2.5/5
- The land you know. The story you don't.
- Oz will amaze.
- In Oz, nothing is what it seems.
- Find yourself in Oz.
Yep. This movie had 4 taglines. I suppose with all the buildup, they thought they really needed to deliver... and apparently you do that by thinking of 4 lame taglines. Not just lame, but boring, untrue, boring again and oddly sexual--the wizard's name is Oscar, Oz for short...Find yourself in Oz...maybe it's just my mind, but that's not really appropriate. I should let it go. Moving on. I will say that my review of this movie is a bit slanted. I went into it not expecting much. Being a fan of Wicked (the stage production and the novel) and Alice in Wonderland (2010), I didn't see much need for a film like this. I think it is inevitable to compare this film to Tim Burton's Wonderland, and maybe its been done to death... but doesn't that make it all the more obvious that the production design should have gone in a different direction? Oz is suppose to be a world in turmoil, people ripped from their homes and the land torn apart by the wicked witch.
And yet, it's so pretty. Too pretty. It's bright and cheery. All the time. Even when they have the big battle at the end... it still so damned pretty. With Wonderland, the look of the movie tells you how razed their world has become. It's still pretty, but it's also broken. Of the two, Burton did it better. Sorry, Raimi.
In bringing up Wicked, I only mean to use it as an example of a truly original origin story. Now, I am not familiar with the original canon of Oz as told by L. Frank Baum. How the Wicked Witch of the West comes to be could be exactly as it is told in this film. I just prefer Gregory Maguire's version of events.
For the characters, the witches were wonderful. An origin story for each of them would be very interesting with these actors. James Franco as the wizard, however, leaves much to be desired. It's very hard to root for someone who is such a sleazeball--and doesn't have much of a character arc to boot. All in all, I would skip this one and read Wicked and watch Alice in Wonderland instead.
And yet, it's so pretty. Too pretty. It's bright and cheery. All the time. Even when they have the big battle at the end... it still so damned pretty. With Wonderland, the look of the movie tells you how razed their world has become. It's still pretty, but it's also broken. Of the two, Burton did it better. Sorry, Raimi.
In bringing up Wicked, I only mean to use it as an example of a truly original origin story. Now, I am not familiar with the original canon of Oz as told by L. Frank Baum. How the Wicked Witch of the West comes to be could be exactly as it is told in this film. I just prefer Gregory Maguire's version of events.
For the characters, the witches were wonderful. An origin story for each of them would be very interesting with these actors. James Franco as the wizard, however, leaves much to be desired. It's very hard to root for someone who is such a sleazeball--and doesn't have much of a character arc to boot. All in all, I would skip this one and read Wicked and watch Alice in Wonderland instead.
