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Oz the Great and Powerful

Oz the Great and Powerful

Action, Adventure, Fantasy

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.


The critical consensus

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.

***(*)(*)Siobhan Synnot, The Scotsman, 03/03/2013

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.

****(*)Kim Newman, Empire Online, 04/03/2013

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.

***(*)(*)Alistair Harkness, The Scotsman, 07/03/2013

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.

***(*)(*)Anthony Quinn, The Independent, 07/03/2013

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.

***(*)(*)Henry Fitzherbert, 07/03/2013

Sets and effects impress. The script is as good as it needs to be.

***(*)(*)Nigel Andrews, Financial Times, 07/03/2013

Boisterous, engaging, lovingly detailed and overlong.

***(*)(*)Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 07/03/2013

It may not be wonderful, but it will do for now.

***(*)(*)Robbie Collin, The Telegraph, 07/03/2013

Entertaining return to Oz.

****(*)Chris Tookey, Daily Mail, 08/03/2013

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.

****(*)Miles Fielder, The List, 08/03/2013

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.

**(*)(*)(*)Stephen Carty, Flix Capacitor, 09/03/2013

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.

Nicholas Barber, The Independent, 09/03/2013


Features about Oz the Great and Powerful

Once more over the rainbow with Oz The Great and Powerful

Brigit Grant, Daily Express, 03/03/2013

Where and when?

General release. Check local listings for show times.

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