Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013) Movie Review

OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (2013) MOVIE REVIEW

So with prequels being all the rage nowadays, we finally have an origin story to the Wizard of Oz which manages to actually explain alot. 

The movie begins in Kansas in the year 1905 where we are introduced to a small time magician named Oz (James Franco). Along his side is his trusted assistant and friend Frank (Zach Braff) as well as random women whom Oz manages to persuade to perform with him. After his performance, he escapes in his hot air balloon but in his path is a tornado which fortunately for him, happens to be the portal to the wondrous land of Oz. Now his journey begins as he hears of an ancient prophecy saying that he is the rightful king of Oz. While on paper the story seems perfect, it does not meet the expectations as their are plot holes spread throughout, making you doubt the plot. Besides this however, the story is fairly good for the most part.

Throughout the story, there are various references to the classic Wizard of Oz as well as references to his past life. This is done quite well as many characters from his past life show in a different form, which really show that this is a step-up from his past life. 

Another thing that must be mentioned is the 3-D effects used. As much as I hate to praise 3-D, even though I think it is useless, the effects used in Oz is some of the best I've seen in recent years. The many effects and objects made to appear as though they are real is quit admirable and is easily up their with Avatar as having some of the most impressive and gorgeous visuals in any movie to date. 

As for the casting of actors, I felt that James Franco was a perfect casting for Oz as he has the same personality and in some ways, appears as a younger version of the wizard, which is always a plus. Zach Braff was great as well as he played a perfect puppet so to speak, being both Oz's servant outside and inside the land of Oz. Lastly, the person who stole the show for me (besides James Franco) was the China Girl voiced by Joey King, who also played the child climbing out of the prison in The Dark Knight Rises. 

With superb casting and just as amazing visuals, Oz really is a great movie to watch if you just wanna see action and pretty effects. If your here looking for a true pre-successor to the classic, I guess the film does this, just not in the way people were made to believe. That aside, it is still worth a watch and I would defiantly consider watching this again, in about 1-2 years. 

RATING: 7/10