Major Theatrical Releases May 2019

Oz The Great and Powerful
Starring James Franco, Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis & Rachel Weisz

Directed by Sam Raimi

In this prequel to the beloved children's classic, we learn about how the mighty wizard of Oz made it to the magical land of Oz, and his first encounter with the evil Wicked Witch.

The movie starts off with a half-screen sepia-toned visit to Kansas, where a traveling circus is in a small town.  Oz (James Franco) is nothing more than a wannabe great magician charlatan, who performs some simple magic tricks for the simple folk of the town, but is unable to do the great things, such as heal a girl who's been crippled.

After escaping on a balloon from a couple of the freaks he's wronged in the circus, Oz encounters a tornado and freaks out, thinking he's going to die before he accomplishes anything great.  Instead, he's propelled into the land of Oz, and the screen becomes full and even fuller of color, a dazzling spectacle of bright vibrant color.

The first person Oz encounters is the good witch Theodora (Mila Kunis) who informs him that he fulfills the prophecy mentioned long ago of a great and powerful wizard coming to Oz to save them from the wicked witch and to rule as their king.  Oz is excited at this prospect and meets Theodora's sister, Evanora (Rachel Weisz), who informs him that he must go and kill the evil Wicked Witch before he becomes king.

Oz then encounters Glinda (Michelle Williams), another witch, and discovers that Evanora is indeed the Wicked Witch, and the battle to save Oz - both the land and the man - begins.

Going into this film, I didn't have many preconceived notions of what to expect.  I've only seen "The Wizard of Oz" when I was a child, and don't remember much of it.  I never read any of the books they're based from, so for those of you who are obsessed with the books and hate how it was brought to the big screen, that's your deal.  I went with some friends, one of whom is a diehard Oz fan, and she absolutely loved it.

Personally, I felt the film was near perfect with only one major flaw - James Franco.  His performance was, as he usually is, bland.  It's a very one-note performance which would've been done better by either of the two actors who were first in consideration for the role - Robert Downey Jr. and Johnny Depp.  Director Sam Raimi (who directed the original "Spider-Man" trilogy) I'm sure then chose Franco because they worked together in the "Spider-Man" films, but he still delivers a somewhat deadpan performance.

The real stars of the show are the three witches, especially Mila Kunis' performance as Theodora.  She shows sincere vulnerability mixed with a child-like naivete.  Michelle Williams also kills it as Glinda, and Weisz does fairly well as Evanora.  The remaining supporting cast consists of a loyal and wise-cracking monkey named Finley (Zach Braff) and an injured, orphan china doll (Joey King) - both of whom have connections to Oz in his original life in Kansas - deliver the heart and soul of the film, especially the poor china doll.  No lie, there were moments I was tearing up.

But the major star of the film is the shear production values.  As I said earlier, the film goes from a somewhat grainy, half-screen sepia film to a full-screen dazzling epic colorful adventure filled with spectacular scenery and explosive set pieces that, like Oz desires, baffles the mind.

In the end, the film is about redemption for Oz, who first enters the magical land as an egotistical, self-centered wannabe king and throughout the film he becomes softened and begins to care more for the people around him.

Rating: A-