Note: I saw this while ill and on medicine, missing sections, so grain of salt...
Sam Raimi’s prequel
has an impossible task: Stand not after, but before the perfect “Wizard of Oz,” one of the greatest films produced by Hollywood. Dolled up in 3D
and the best CGI computers can buy, borrow, and steal, “Oz: the Great and
Powerful” has no chance. But it’s not a bad film. There’s a childlike playfulness to it, and stacked beside his very unchildlike “Spring Breakers,” oddly fascinating. James
Franco again plays against three women as a con artist who’s been bullshitting himself
so long, he believes his own schtick. His Oscar is swept away by a tornado to the
land that bears his nickname, and there he meets three sisters and witches
(Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis, and Rachel Weisz) who believe him to be some
kind of prophet. You know from “Wizard” how it all shakes out, and this echoes
the same beats -– traveling companions, munchkins, and witch battle. Franco
gives a weird, sly take as with “Breakers.” Maybe too sly. Kunis is great and
terrible. But wasn’t Judy Garland? Great and powerful? No. The heart of “Oz” beats far too cynical, whereas the 1939 film roared beautifully and proud. But it entertains. B
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