The most peculiar pieces and parts of the highly peculiar event pic “Oz the Great and Powerful” are the many similarities the film shares with a certain beloved classic.
Now I’m not referring to the obvious. Of course there is a Yellow Brick Road and witches both angelic and wicked. Men in monkey suits have been replaced with fierce, CGI baboons but they both fly off when ordered. We still have the Munchkins although the song gets cut short (pun) this time around and gratefully so.
All of those correlations are expected and appreciated. This is, after all, an Oz movie so you would want a dose of the familiar to make things jive. Those connections were not what made my jaw drop.
The beloved classic that shares so much of its DNA with this new version “Oz” is none other than “Army of Darkness”. Of course both films share the same director in Sam Raimi. But Sam has grown into an A-list Summer Movie Maker with his immensely successful “Spiderman” Trilogy and that’s what got him this job. Not, and I am just guessing here, but not his gruesome and gorgeous “Evil Dead” movies. Yet here we have a $200 Million dollar, Disney-backed reboot of “The Wizard of Oz” and it has just as much in common with “Evil Dead 3” than it does its predecessor.
In both films a slightly unlikable Hero travels to a far off land: The Wizard to Oz and Ash to the Middle Ages. In these worlds the people are not wise to the ways of our world and the Hero takes advantage of this: Oz uses simple sleight of hand and puffs of magician smoke to impress and Ash uses his Boom Stick (also known as a shotgun). Both men are mistaken for the savior spoke of in “The Prophecy” who falls from the sky and both embrace this title for the promise of riches and fame. Both are asked to go on a dangerous journey and reluctantly accept. Both womanize with a smug grin. Both are asked to embrace their true inner-good guy and build an army out of group of ragtag misfits. Both the wizard and Ash show the simple people how to make gun powder and weapons of trickery. And, most surprising of all, both films feature gruesome cackling witches that flail at the camera and scare the crap out of me. Yes, “Oz the Great and Powerful” has some genuine jolts in it. The similarities are so numerous that “Oz” can almost be considered a self-homage by Raimi only driving the Tim Burton comparison even further.
The final well that this new “Oz” draws from is Burton’s redux of “Alice in Wonderland” that we saw in 2010. That Disney produced film took a classic story and refashioned its own tale top to bottom. 3D cameras whirl us around a largely computer generated world that never feels very alive. That movie made a Billion Dollars worldwide and I’m sure that is the hope here. All we are missing is Johnny Depp in pale makeup. Funny enough though, Depp was to play Oz but had another commitment that resurfaced when “The Lone Ranger” got the green light once again. So it is there that we will have to get our Deep in pale make up fix.
Now let’s focus a little time not only on what “Oz the Great and Powerful” is like but also what is left once you peel all the comparables away. Sadly there isn’t much to cheer about.
Much of the story’s structure fits the template as we begin in a black and white (but not sepia toned, for reason) Kansas. This time the year is 1905 and Oz is also the name of conman/magician (James Franco) who is best at making enemies. We find him running away from a carnival having angered the Strongman by kissing on his gal. Oz hops in a hot air balloon and is quickly whisked away by a tornado. The effect is awesome in 3D, in fact the film looks fantastic and fantastical giving you reason to seek it out in the theater if for the spectacle alone. Oz arrives in the land of Oz, of course, and finds himself in a battle between three witches; Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and the lovely Glinda (Michelle Williams). He is asked to defeat the Wicked Witch (not of the West. In fact none of the witches have compass directions attached to their names just yet) and claim the Thorne as ruler of the Emerald City. There is a giant room filled with gold that would then belong to him so Oz the conniving and deceitful is on board with killing himself a witch.
Much of the film’s lack of punch comes from some of the performances. Franco is simply miscast and sounds too contemporary for the part. He pulls off the smaller moments fine but when he gets into the boastful, grandiose declarations of a carnival barker he comes off like a 12 year old boy playing circus. And he is asked to bark a lot. Kunis looks amazing in her fashion but screeches through most of her performance and never captures the heart of a witch that has hers broken and destroys everything around her because of it. Save for the always near perfection of Michelle Williams, none of the characters are well rounded or pack any weight. There is a moment when the Wizard walks down a line of people and bestows upon them gifts much like the end of the original. I realized that I didn’t really know any of these people too well and definitely didn’t care about any them. I did like the talking monkey but I’m a sucker for that sort of stuff.
It’s that lack of connection that kills what good is in “Oz the Great and Powerful”. There really isn’t anything that is too powerful here. Pretty but pointless, I’ll give you.