Oz The Great And Powerful is a prequel of sorts that hit the big screen long after the screen classic The Wizard Of Oz. James Franco stars as Oscar "Oz" Diggs, a carnival illusionist in early 20th century America. He's not popular as an attraction or among his fellow performers, but he gets away from it all when he steals a hot air balloon and lands in Emerald City, a place unlike any other he's ever seen. The first human he meets is Theodora (Mila Kunis), who tells Oz of a troubled time in her land. Her father, who'd been the king, was murdered by an evil witch. She also tells Oz that the troubles in her land will end with the arrival of a powerful wizard. When they arrive at her father's old castle, Theodora's sister, Evanora (Rachel Weisz), affirms Theodora's story, and says that when the wizard kills the witch, he will reap great rewards. Oz decides he should be that person.

Oz goes to the castle, ordered by Evanora to destroy the witch's wand, which will destroy her. Oz is accompanied only by Finley (voiced by Zach Braff), a talking monkey Oz and Theodora had rescued. Along the way, they see the evil power for themselves when the rescue China Girl (voiced by Joey King), the sole survivor of a witch's attack upon her community. In time, the three arrive at the forest where Glinda (Michelle Williams), the accused perpetrator, makes her home. Because she resembles someone Oz once thought of marrying back home, they never get around to breaking Glinda's wand. She, in fact, convinces the trio she's not the evil one. Glinda also knows that Oz is not the great wizard of prophecy, but she decides to put the resources of the Emerald City at Oz's disposal to see if he can stop the real evil witch, who has also ensured the sisters will stand against Oz.

There are plenty of problems with Oz The Great And Powerful. First, I don't like the look of the movie. Director Sam Raimi and special effects don't always mix well, as seen in his Spider-Man movies. Some effects, like China Girl and Finley, are fine. A lot of the scenerey looks so fake, though, I don't know how viewers could feel transported to a magical land. Another problem is that Oz copies stylistic elements from The Wizard Of Oz. Oz, like Wizard, begins in black and white, and goes to color once Oz arrives in this faraway land via tornado. The darkly lit scenes look like they were inspired by Metropolis than by any other Oz movie that's been made. The witch's cackling that can be heard later in the film sounds like it was, at least, inspired by Margaret Hamilton's scary vocals in The Wizard Of Oz. That makes me wonder if those sounds might not have come from the 1939 classic.

The biggest mistake of all is that Franco is no match for his three leading ladies. He certainly doesn't make any Wizard fan forget the performance of Frank Morgan, who seemed to be having fun as the bombastic wizard, but truly cared about Dorothy and her traveling companions. Franco can't make bombast or compassion work for him here - he simply looks like he's acting. I think that Raimi's Spider-Man, Tobey Maguire, would have been a better choice to play Oz. Weisz is the best part of the film as Evanora, who tells Oz the convenient parts about her father's death. Behind her visible sorrow is an ability to manipulate - and she succeeds to an extent. Kunis is impressive as Theodora, a beauty with a blind spot. The best part of Franco's performance came in his scenes with a compassionate Theodora. Williams is enjoyable as Glinda, a resourceful witch determined to show Oz who was really responsible for the woes of the kingdom, with the help of Oz's special skills.

The events of Oz The Great And Powerful set the back story for The Wizard Of Oz. Unfortunately, the tale of Oz's arrival in a land somewhere over the rainbow isn't nearly as special as the one taken by Dorothy Gale. Oscar Diggs, at one point, states he wants to be a great man like Thomas Edison. However, his actions, as helpful as they are, show that greatness, to him, is measured in terms of showmanship and riches. Without the help he gets, he's not really great or powerful. He's just an illusionist in the right place at the right time.

Recommended: No

Movie Mood: None of the Above
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Cast