Film review: Oz The Great And Powerful
For my film review this week I and reviewing the 2013 fantasy film Oz The Great And Powerful, which is a prequel to The Wizard Of Oz, directed by Sam Raimi and starring James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff and Joey King. The film was hugely successful in the cinema's taking nearly $500 million worldwide and was the 13th highest grossing film of the year, this is particularly impressive because that same year Frozen and Iron Man 3 were released and are among the 50 best selling films of all time.
Before I go further I will say that there will be spoilers, so if you intend to watch the film and don't like spoilers wait to see the film first.
The film follows Oscar Diggs (James Franco) aka Oz who is a magician and conman in a travelling circus, he is transported to that Land of Oz in a tornado. Once he arrives he meets a witch called Theodora (Mila Kunis) who believes him to be the wizard that was promised to save the Land of Oz and become King. En route to the Emerald City Theodora falls in love with Oscar and he saves a flying monkey called Finley (Zach Braff) from a lion, he pledges his life to serve Oscar as a life debt. In the Emerald city they meet Theodora's sister Evanora (Rachel Weisz) who tells Oscar he needs to kill the wicked witch to save the Land of Oz. On the way to kill the wicked witch Oscar and Finley find an orphaned China Girl (Joey King)whose village and people were destroyed by the wicked witch, when the group find the witch she turns out to be Glinda (Michelle Williams) the good witch and they discover they have been deceived. Evanora sees this in her crystal ball and tricks Theodora into thinking Oscar was interested in all three witches romantically, she offers a magic apple to remove heartache but instead it turns Theodora into a hideous green-skinned witch.
Glinda brings Oscar and friends to her domain and despite knowing he is not a wizard still believes he can help, she also reveals that her people are sworn not to kill. Theodora arrives to angrily reveal her new appearance and threatens to kill Oscar and his allies with the Emerald City's well-prepared army. This causes Oscar to devise a plan of trickery to fight the wicked witches, during which he fakes his death to be re-born in his 'true form' of a floating invincible head, all put together by a combination of smoke, lighting and fireworks. This scares the witches off and Oscar takes up his role as King of the Land of Oz with his projector set up to sustain the belief that he is a powerful wizard.
I really enjoyed this film, it is a great prequel to The Wizard Of Oz and gives a brilliant backstory for the wizard and the witches, leading perfectly to the scenario that Dorothy lands in several years later. The wizard originally being from earth and a trick magician perfectly explains how he ended up creating the 'true form' that we see in The Wizard Of Oz in addition the conman and ladies man aspect explains why the wicked witch hates him so much and is banished from the Emerald City.
With regards to this film I think James Franco played the character of Oscar incredibly, he really brought across the cocky, full of himself attitude that makes him able to be the trickster that he is. However he also showed the caring side of Oscar really well, showing compassion for Finley and China Girl when saving them and attempting to keep them safe later on, also for Glenda when she tells him the truth about her father and the other witches. There is also forgiveness towards Theodora as he offers her the chance to return to the Emerald City if she can overcome her wickedness, showing her is willing to give everyone a second chance. The scene at the end where Oscar thanks the characters who helped him most and gives them each something to show his gratitude is additional proof of Oscar's caring nature and a recognition that without all of them he couldn't have done what he did.
I thought the evil witches were brilliant, Mila Kunis was brilliant as the initially sweet and naive but ultimately angry and death seeking Theodora, in particular the shift when her heart breaks and she becomes evil really proved why she was the right choice for the role as you could really feel the pain and anger she was portraying. Then there was Rachel Weisz as the cunning and manipulative Evanora, it is clear as soon as we meet this character that she is evil and the performance Rachel gives really brings this across, even before she says anything. However when she starts to reveal just how evil she is it really comes across in all aspects, from what she says and how she says it to the way she stands and then, the reveal of her true form at the end when her necklace is broken by Glenda finishes the image as she looks as ugly and evil as her soul is.
Overall I thought this was a brilliant film, great fun for all the family and a perfect prequel story, I would highly recommend this film and will definitely be re-watching it in the future.
My rating for Oz The Great And Powerful is 9.5/10
Before I go further I will say that there will be spoilers, so if you intend to watch the film and don't like spoilers wait to see the film first.
Glinda brings Oscar and friends to her domain and despite knowing he is not a wizard still believes he can help, she also reveals that her people are sworn not to kill. Theodora arrives to angrily reveal her new appearance and threatens to kill Oscar and his allies with the Emerald City's well-prepared army. This causes Oscar to devise a plan of trickery to fight the wicked witches, during which he fakes his death to be re-born in his 'true form' of a floating invincible head, all put together by a combination of smoke, lighting and fireworks. This scares the witches off and Oscar takes up his role as King of the Land of Oz with his projector set up to sustain the belief that he is a powerful wizard.
I really enjoyed this film, it is a great prequel to The Wizard Of Oz and gives a brilliant backstory for the wizard and the witches, leading perfectly to the scenario that Dorothy lands in several years later. The wizard originally being from earth and a trick magician perfectly explains how he ended up creating the 'true form' that we see in The Wizard Of Oz in addition the conman and ladies man aspect explains why the wicked witch hates him so much and is banished from the Emerald City.
With regards to this film I think James Franco played the character of Oscar incredibly, he really brought across the cocky, full of himself attitude that makes him able to be the trickster that he is. However he also showed the caring side of Oscar really well, showing compassion for Finley and China Girl when saving them and attempting to keep them safe later on, also for Glenda when she tells him the truth about her father and the other witches. There is also forgiveness towards Theodora as he offers her the chance to return to the Emerald City if she can overcome her wickedness, showing her is willing to give everyone a second chance. The scene at the end where Oscar thanks the characters who helped him most and gives them each something to show his gratitude is additional proof of Oscar's caring nature and a recognition that without all of them he couldn't have done what he did.
I thought the evil witches were brilliant, Mila Kunis was brilliant as the initially sweet and naive but ultimately angry and death seeking Theodora, in particular the shift when her heart breaks and she becomes evil really proved why she was the right choice for the role as you could really feel the pain and anger she was portraying. Then there was Rachel Weisz as the cunning and manipulative Evanora, it is clear as soon as we meet this character that she is evil and the performance Rachel gives really brings this across, even before she says anything. However when she starts to reveal just how evil she is it really comes across in all aspects, from what she says and how she says it to the way she stands and then, the reveal of her true form at the end when her necklace is broken by Glenda finishes the image as she looks as ugly and evil as her soul is.
Overall I thought this was a brilliant film, great fun for all the family and a perfect prequel story, I would highly recommend this film and will definitely be re-watching it in the future.
My rating for Oz The Great And Powerful is 9.5/10
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