A small-time magician arrives in an enchanted land and is forced to decide if he will be a good man or a great one.
It’s got heart and nerve (you can spot some clever efforts to avoid infringing the 1939 film’s copyright), but the brain keeps saying the finale is awfully like Oz – Home Alone.
If there are post-Harry Potter children who don’t know or care about The Wizard Of Oz, they might be at sea with this story about a not-very-nice grownup in a magic land, but long-term Oz watchers will be enchanted and enthralled. There’s even a musical number, albeit an abbreviated one. Mila Kunis gets a gold star for excellence in bewitchery and Sam Raimi can settle securely behind the curtain as a mature master of illusion.
Part loving tribute, part modern reboot, this sort-of-prequel to The Wizard of Oz offers plenty to enjoy without really nailing what makes Victor Fleming’s 1939 adaptation of L Frank Baum’s story such an enduring classic.
As an origin story it's only so-so, bullied by the digimated effects and bulked out, for no good reason, to 130 minutes. That black-and-white opening, woozily shot by Peter Deming, is fabulous, but everything afterwards is something of an anticlimax.
While the picture looks magnificent the narrative plods along predictably with little comedy and certainly no sense of magic. Younger children who aren’t so in thrall to the original may feel differently but I’d be surprised if they didn’t find it too long.
Sets and effects impress. The script is as good as it needs to be.
Boisterous, engaging, lovingly detailed and overlong.
It may not be wonderful, but it will do for now.
Entertaining return to Oz.
The second half drags a little, but the action-packed climax works well, neatly tying things up and setting the stage for Dorothy’s ruby-slippered adventures.
While far from an embarrassment to the beloved original, Oz The Great And Powerful is more flat and plodding than it is great or powerful.
Unlike half of today's children's films, Oz the Great and Powerful is funny enough to appeal to accompanying adults without undermining the sincerity of its emotions or the excitement of its action sequences. And unlike the other half of today's children's films, it's content to be bright and cheery rather than trendily grim. It's one prequel that deserves a sequel.
Once more over the rainbow with Oz The Great and Powerful
General release. Check local listings for show times.