SMOKE AND MIRRORS: a review of "Oz The Great And Powerful"

"OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL"

Based upon the works of L. Frank Baum

Screen Story by Mitchell Kapner

Screenplay Written by Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire

Directed by Sam Raimi

** (two stars)

"How predictable!" snarls The Wicked Witch of the West  late in "Oz The Great And Powerful," Director Sam Raimi's lush, extravagant and sadly hollow prequel to the eternal classic "The Wizard Of Oz" (1939), and I'm sorry, but I have to say that I felt the same. 

Yes, dear readers, this latest excursion to the land somewhere over the rainbow was one that, for the most part, left me cold, uninvolved and more than a little bored as I felt that I had just seen it all before and better. A sad realization especially when I should have been transported and enthralled. No, "Oz The Great And Powerful" is not a bad movie and there are quite a number of elements and performances that work very well in fits and starts. But, as with the horrendous and soulless "Alice In Wonderland" (2010), the joint venture between Disney and Tim Burton in which somehow Burton's creative presence was nowhere to be found, the hugely inventive Sam Raimi nearly suffers the same fate at being rendered irrelevant within his own movie just so Disney can create a new and grandly lucrative franchise. Like this film's anti-hero's lust for the gold and treasures of Oz, Disney's quest for riches makes "Oz The Great And Powerful" an unfortunately cynical affair of a film which duplicitously tries to stress the value of purity, community and discovering the the best of oneself for the betterment of all. As I watched it and ruminate over it now, I think of how wondrous it could have been if the pursuit of the dollar just hadn't gotten itself so immovably in the way.  

After a gorgeous opening credits sequence, "Oz The Great And Powerful" begins, in black and white cinematography, at a travelling sideshow carnival in 1905 Kansas. We soon meet the selfish, friendless, charlatan magician Oscar Diggs, known to all by his nickname of "Oz" (played by James Franco), who is sweet talking his latest conquest, set to perform his latest show to dwindling financial results and audience irritation while he also houses vast dreams of one day accomplishing unquestionable, life-altering and world shifting greatness like his hero Thomas Edison. 

As a storm approaches the fairgrounds and Oscar is making a speedy getaway from a furious circus strongman, angered that our anti-hero has flirted with his wife, Oscar hops into a hot air balloon, takes off and is soon sucked completely inside the whirling terror of a tornado. And just like our cherished Dorothy Gale will discover in "The Wizard Of Oz," the film bursts into a widescreen technicolor wonderland as Oscar awakens in the land of Oz.

Oscar's arrival is immediately spotted by the witch Theodora (Mila Kunis), who believes him to be the prophesied wizard destined to destroy the Wicked Witch who murdered the King of Oz and ultimately take the throne as the magical kingdom's new ruler. As the highly skeptical Oscar begins his new journey, with visions of endless gold coins in his eyes, he soon gathers a small collective of traveling companions in the form of Finley, the kind flying monkey (voiced by Zach Braff) and the spunky porcelain China Doll (voiced by Joey King); runs afoul of Theodora's sister, the vicious witch Evanora (Rachel Weisz) as well as the aforementioned green skinned Wicked Witch of the West (no spoilers but you'll see it coming a mile away) and is guided throughout by the honorable Glinda the Good Witch (a wonderful Michelle Williams). With the fate of a kingdom and fulfillment of a prophecy dependent upon his arrival, the reluctant Oscar is forced to face down his deepest fears and worst impulses as he strives for a potential greatness that flies beyond his wildest dreams.  

While Sam Raimi's "Oz The Great And Powerful" is a visual feast, it is surprisingly an empty one and only within the film's final moments does it even approach to utilize what it had been lacking for a hair over two hours: a heart. Yes, there were moments here and there that I really enjoyed. I absolutely loved the opening black and white sections, especially Oscar's magic show and the old hand-worn tricks to create that elusive sense of illusion on stage. I enjoyed the very clever nods to Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion that subtly pop into the story without ever feeling forced. I even thought that the climactic moment which announces Oscar's full arrival with his destiny to have a real sense of awe. But other than that, "Oz The Great And Powerful" is yet one more big budget, bloated, impersonal, anonymous, CGI drenched motion picture that struggles to maintain mass appeal without really having any sense of a creative point of view—which is just how Disney wants it I guess. Because let's face it, dear readers, "Oz The Great And Powerful" is really a Disney film and not a Sam Raimi film. So of course, it begs to ask the question, why hire an artist like Sam Raimi if you are not going to allow him to be Sam Raimi? Certainly he comes off much better than Tim Burton did with the odious “Alice In Wonderland” but “Oz The Great And Powerful” does suffer some of the same problems as it is.

One major problem is the film's screenplay. While it does carve out a strong origin story line, it is actually executed in the same flat, generic tone as any other big budget, special effects driven film that is released from month to month throughout the year. The conflicts are generally the same, as are the lessons learned and the film even marches forwards to yet another CGI drenched war sequence that is mostly so tiresome to sit through and is rarely pulled of with any sense of urgency and uplift. Worst of all is the film's painfully simplistic and repetitive dialogue that just slowed the film down to a detrimental degree and therefore, made the film’s themes as subtle as a sledgehammer to the head. How many times did we have to hear Glinda express to Oscar about his inherent goodness or how he needs to believe in himself? How many times did we have to hear about how he is the savior of the prophecy to lead Oz into a new freedom? These examples plus perhaps two or three more were extolled endlessly and it all felt so tiresome. 

I do understand that the powers that be wanted this film to appeal to children and families (and of course, ensure higher box office receipt totals) but please tell me why there was there no nuance or depth or quality to the language of this script? Everything was so one note, so facile, so cliched and presented as if the screenwriter’s had an idea of what dialogue pitched to a young audience should sound like instead of just…you know...writing a story with a sense of purity. "Oz The Great And Powerful" just felt like it was another greedy grab at mass appeal, as well as a way for the film to be easily translatable and that much more lucrative in foreign markets. Look, I get it and I do not blame the folks at Disney for wanting to make a fortune with their latest product. Of course, you want your movie to make a fortune! Who wouldn't? But why was the money grab so obvious? 

Another major problem is James Franco. To me, he is an actor of unquestionable gifts as evidenced through his wonderful work on television's "Freaks And Geeks" as well as his agonizing and riveting one-man-show performance in Director Danny Boyle's "127 Hours" (2010). But with "Oz The Great And Powerful," he is so oddly unmotivated and uncommitted to his role of Oscar Diggs that it almost felt to be like some kind of ironic in joke between himself and perhaps...himself. I mean--here he is in the LAND OF OZ and never for an instant did he display any real sense of being enchanted, enthralled or terrified or anything other than a certain oh-so-cool sense of jaded detachment that is just not acceptable for a film like this one. Yes, I do understand that part of the cynicism is partially due to the character of Oscar Diggs because he is a con man, a charlatan, and a skeptic. He is the selfish anti-hero who is always seeming to weasel his way to the riches of Oz or else a way out of his predicament or a way away from his destiny. But, that is only part of this character because he is indeed in the...LAND OF OZ!!! If he is not gobsmacked by the sights and sounds of the Oz universe, then why should we in the audience be gobsmacked in turn? I just couldn't connect with this character because Franco seemed to be so above it all, mirroring this strange stance he has seemed to cloak himself with ever since the Academy Awards hosting debacle from two years ago. 

After quite a spell, I began to wonder if Zach Braff, who appears in the flesh during the film's beginning sequences as Oscar's long suffering assistant, would have conveyed more layers necessary to make this story and character pop. Robert Downey Jr., who was originally cast in the leading role but eventually dropped out, would have been absolutely perfect as he has a way to be humorous, shifty, romantic, engaging, sinister, subversive and heroic and sometimes all at once. he just has a way with a phrase that makes dialogue sound as if the words are his very own and he can always keep an audience guessing. But as it is, James Franco was indeed miscast because he seems to be standing outside of the material when he needs to embrace it. And regardless, the weak screenplay lets him down anyway. Rachel Weisz, Mila Kunis and especially Michelle Williams, on the other hand, fully commit to their roles and they are so good, they almost transcend the pat nature of the screenplay. Almost...

And I guess all of these criticisms bring me to my greatest criticism towards "Oz The Great And Powerful," and that is to the overall blandness of the film especially with the special effects. Really take a moment to think about "The Wizard Of Oz" and how image after image has been burned into our public consciousness for generations and how with each generation, we are truly whisked away to another realm of existence altogether. The feeling is nothing less than primal from the euphoric joy all the way, and even moreso, to the terror. "The Wizard Of Oz" as well as Director Sidney Lumet's "The Wiz" (1978) utilized the state of the art special effects, costume, set and production designs of their respective eras to create a world that essentially emulated a child's vivid and surreal dream world that often felt like Dali-eque fever dreams or at times plunged into gripping nightmares.

With "The Wizard Of Oz," generations have continuously expressed intense fear with the sight and memories of the flying monkeys. As for me, the moments that horrified me the most all had to do with Margaret Hamilton's iconic and untouchable performance as the green skinned Wicked Witch of the West. She was the embodiment of pure evil, a force of such unspeakable malevolence and I could not turn my eyes away. Her shrill cackle to the moment during which she was melted by water scared me to no end. And the moment in which poor Dorothy (the peerless Judy Garland), waiting to be rescued by her friends, watched her life literally slip away via sand flowing through an hourglass, left me breathless as a child. "The Wizard Of Oz" is an often deeply frightening film and you know what, it's OK! It is OK for children to be frightened by stories sometimes. They do not need to be sheltered by everything for the entire duration of their childhood. And furthermore, when Dorothy and her friends triumph, we in the audience triumph and conquer our greatest demons right alongside them, making for an experience that is seismically inspirational, most notably for children.

Yes, "The Wizard Of Oz" is indeed one of the very best films I have seen in my entire life and I do realize that it would be an impossible feat for "Oz The Great And Powerful" to exist within the same league. I understand that and I am truly trying to review this new film upon its own terms. That said, "Oz The Great And Powerful" just missed the mark. With the mass amount of visual effects on display from one end of the film to the other, it just amazed me how nearly all of it felt to be straight from the special effects assembly line as there was not much about them that felt to be really special. As for merging the technical with the story to create a profoundly emotional experience, especially one that needs to have a measure of real terror involved, "Oz The Great And Powerful" fails on this front as well. Yes, things jump out at you from time to time and there are sudden sonic shocks and scares here and there but they don't last very long and are ushered off of the screen so quickly that nothing really takes hold. The little ones just may be frightened for a moment or two but when it comes to something lasting, to something that sticks to the cinematic ribs, to something that can be truly memorable, like a lingering dream that you cannot shake even if you wanted to, "Oz The Great And Powerful" doesn't even begin to come close.  

Dear readers, I wanted to love Sam Raimi's "Oz The Great And Powerful" but I just didn't. I just couldn't. Like "Alice In Wonderland," it does not even begin to exist as art for the ages but more as shiny, glitzy product for mass consumption and frankly, we are not left the better for it.

By the time the already announced sequel hit theaters in a few years, I sincerely hope the filmmakers improve their vision or else there really won't be anything of value to pay attention to behind the theater curtain.