Oz: The Great & Powerful - Noodles Review

Oz: The Great & Powerful

5.5 out of 10 Noodles

       I'm writing this review now before I forget what to say and I think that already says a lot about this movie. Oz: The Great & Powerful is the alleged prequel to '30s classic The Wizard of Oz. Though, Warner Bros. owns the rights to the latter, with Disney being responsible for the former. Essentially, Oscar, or Oz as he is known by, is a conman magician in a traveling circus. The movie begins in black and white 4:3 format while Oz is in Kansas, until a tornado comes around (wow, Kansas must have a lot of tornadoes that take you to other worlds) and he lands in the Land of Oz (weird; his name is Oz and the world is called Oz). Now, Oz, the man, is tasked with becoming the savior of Oz, the land. Though, he's not exactly up to the task as he's only a small-time magician, in contrast to telling everyone he's a powerful wizard.
      As far the acting goes, James Franco never lets us down and his reputation remains that way with his performance as Oz. It's interesting to see his evolution as a person, growing from a selfish conman to a brave intellectual. Then there's the three witches. The only witch that I, personally, appreciated was that of Gelinda the Good, who was played as an overly kind yet sly woman, which is how she should be. The other two witches are either overacted or laughable. Additionally (spoiler alert but you should have already expected this), the Wicked Witch of the West is a huge let down in this movie. 'Nough said about her. My favourite character in the movie is Finley, the flying monkey who is a companion to Oz.
     Oz: The Great & Powerful is a CGI fest. Everything in the movie is extremely spontaneous, but that takes a little bit away from the joy of coming back to Oz. On the contrary, it makes from the stunning visuals. The movie is very colourful and full of fascinating things to look at. But special effects aren't what make a movie stellar. The writing and direction of this movie are somewhat disappointing. It's obvious to see where the director is trying to go with this movie, attempting to make it feel as nostalgic to the original as possible, but it just doesn't work. Additionally, the plot is extremely predictable and quite forgettable.
    Well, let's wrap this up. The goods of Oz: The Great & Powerful are the acting of the title character, the sometimes funny scenes (especially that flying monkey), and the majestic visuals. Unfortunately, the downs of this movie are just as much: the directing is poor, two out of the three witches aren't acted or written well, and the movie is very forgettable. Oz: The Great & Powerful is definitely entertaining for at times, but it feels stretched at others. While it's a good movie to watch with the family, it's definitely forgettable. 5.5 out of 10 Noodles: I probably won't remember this by next month.