OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

Jeri Jacquin, Movie Maven

Opening this Friday from director Sam Raimi and Disney comes a beloved tale with many twists as we all visit OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL.

This film tells the story of Oz (James Franco), a two-bit hustler of the carnival with his bag of magic tricks. He is also fairly good at causing trouble among women! Caring more for himself than anyone else he is often rescued by his assistant Frank (Zach Braff).

That is until a tornado catches him spinning him through the sky until he lands in a colorful place that is a little different. Immediately he meets Theodora (Mila Kunis) who believes the prophecy of a great wizard come to save Oz has come true.

She immediately takes him back to the Emerald City to meet her sister Evanora (Rachel Weisz). The women then tell Oz the whole story and also relay that the only way to save the people of the city is to destroy their evil sister Glinda (Michelle Williams).

Agreeing to help the sisters he travels to the dark forest with Finley the monkey (Zach Braff) where he meets China Girl (Joey King), a doll who joins them. It becomes clear very quickly that all is not what it seems and Oz must find the truth and become more than he expected for himself.

FINAL WORD: Franco is comedic and full of himself as Oz. Yes, that’s the point and he does it very well. Playing an iconic character is pressure yet Franco handles himself beautifully. There are such great moments of interaction with characters that, technically, aren’t even there yet the magic Franco uses works. This is an accomplished actor that honestly, as far as I’m concerned, chooses such different roles that it’s nice to know what not to expect from him.

King as China Girl will win heart-melter of the film. Everyone around me was filled with ‘awwww’s’ and ‘I want one!’ which means another iconic Oz character has been born.  Braff gets a chance to be both a real character and one filled with lively animation as Finley the Monkey. His interaction with Oz is very cute and I can guarantee this will be one monkey kids will want to own.

Kunis as Theodora gets a chance to go from good to bad –very bad – green with envy bad! The classic wicked witch has a story of her own, which gives those in love with WIZARD OF OZ a little background, my pretties! Weisz as Evanora gets a chance to play good girl gone bad.

I can’t even imagine Weisz not having fun with this role. Williams as Glinda is lovely, charming, smart and elegant. Once again she has brought a role to life with her own unique talent and beauty. As one of Hollywood’s strongest actresses, Williams dares to also take the unique roles that allow her to stretch and still have a little fun being a wand waving cool force of Oz.

Film Brat says of OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL - Its a very colorful and fun family film. The characters  added alot of that fun. Franco is very good as Oz and Kunis nailed the part of  the witch. Williams once again will captivate the audience with her Glinda! I am  totally in love with China Doll!

Other cast include: Bill Cobbs as Master Tinker, Tony Cox and Knuck, Stephen R. Hart as Winkie General, Abigail Spencer as May, and Russell Bobbitt as Mr. Baum.

TUBS OF POPCORN: I give OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL three and a half tubs of popcorn out of five. This is definitely a family film filled with fun, color, action, themes of friendship and loyalty.

The 3D, in my opinion, isn’t necessary for the film to be enjoyed but it does add nice dimension especially going from black/white to color. It’s not necessary to have seen WIZARD OF OZ but after seeing OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL it would be fun to go home and watch it again! Getting out to the theatre is going to be a unique journey this weekend.

In the end – the land you know, the story you don’t!