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patentdragonYup, it's that time again, as Blockbuster Pre-Season steps up a gear, and this time, maybe the movie was worthy of being a regular season starter...
Once again, Disney's banner is on something BIG: Oz The Great And Powerful. Now, are we due for another grim-fest...?
There have been so many classic stories re-told, or followed on from, in recent years, and they have in general been dark and gritty (damn you, Grant Morrison!) - but not this time. "OTG&P" taps right into the spirit of the truly classic (and personal favourite) Wizard Of Oz, being full of light and colour as soon as the minimalist 4:3 and black-and-white introduction sequence is done. This is the untold story of how a carnival conjurer and con-man becomes a better - a greater - person through his transportation to the world that shares his stage-name. Yes, we are "treated" to another dose of that tired nugget, "the prophesy", and we are reminded of this quite frequently, but this isn't a big issue, for we know where this tale is going to end - we just don't know how we're going to get there.
Once the preliminaries - and some fairly by-the-numbers 3D set-ups - are done, the story sets off on a fairly brisk pace, introducing a key character (Theadora) with little delay, and another (flying monkey Finlay) not long after that. As with Dorothy's story, the hero finds his way to the Emerald City fairly soon, only to find his adventures are only just beginning, and the seeds of future woes are sown...
Had this been a Tim Burton, it probably would have been getting rather tiresome about now, but under the directorial command of Sam (Evil Dead, Spider-Man) Raimi, it's a whole different ball-game. Lead James Franco does a fine job of depicting ne'er-do-well turned hero of the people (big AND small), Mila (Meg) Kunis only slips up once as Theadora and... ah, that would be telling - let's just say she more than redeems an emotional low-point that doesn't quite work. The only character that doesn't quite work is Glinda, the Good Witch, who you find a difficult fit for the role the character fills in the "original" movie, but it's not a game-breaker.
Visually, the whole package is wrapped up in very satisfying fashion. There are some "coming atcha" 3D moments (see above), particularly in the "normal world" sequence, but by the time you reach the mid-point of the movie, the 3D is barely noticeable - perhaps a deficiency of the whole process, and Hollywood's total inability to make the format work outside of Avatar...
Anyway... What could have been an angsty train-wreck is far from it. The fantasy elements are often quite restrained, such as witches who don't just wave a wand and fix everything in an instant, and that makes it easier to build a more appealing whole. Oh, and it's not a musical. There's a great scene where the Munchkins are introduced, and... look, just go and see for yourself. Plain and simple, Oz for the 21st Century doesn't disappoint. Will we be getting more? The film closes with a fairly unambiguous "The End", but there are plenty more original Oz stories that haven't been covered yet. The foundation is there, of that there's no doubt!
The Final Verdict... A world that should've been revisited a loooong time ago - or maybe now was just the right time. Technicolour bright when it could have been all dark and grim - a shining light in the gloom. 8/10
Once again, Disney's banner is on something BIG: Oz The Great And Powerful. Now, are we due for another grim-fest...?
There have been so many classic stories re-told, or followed on from, in recent years, and they have in general been dark and gritty (damn you, Grant Morrison!) - but not this time. "OTG&P" taps right into the spirit of the truly classic (and personal favourite) Wizard Of Oz, being full of light and colour as soon as the minimalist 4:3 and black-and-white introduction sequence is done. This is the untold story of how a carnival conjurer and con-man becomes a better - a greater - person through his transportation to the world that shares his stage-name. Yes, we are "treated" to another dose of that tired nugget, "the prophesy", and we are reminded of this quite frequently, but this isn't a big issue, for we know where this tale is going to end - we just don't know how we're going to get there.
Once the preliminaries - and some fairly by-the-numbers 3D set-ups - are done, the story sets off on a fairly brisk pace, introducing a key character (Theadora) with little delay, and another (flying monkey Finlay) not long after that. As with Dorothy's story, the hero finds his way to the Emerald City fairly soon, only to find his adventures are only just beginning, and the seeds of future woes are sown...
Had this been a Tim Burton, it probably would have been getting rather tiresome about now, but under the directorial command of Sam (Evil Dead, Spider-Man) Raimi, it's a whole different ball-game. Lead James Franco does a fine job of depicting ne'er-do-well turned hero of the people (big AND small), Mila (Meg) Kunis only slips up once as Theadora and... ah, that would be telling - let's just say she more than redeems an emotional low-point that doesn't quite work. The only character that doesn't quite work is Glinda, the Good Witch, who you find a difficult fit for the role the character fills in the "original" movie, but it's not a game-breaker.
Visually, the whole package is wrapped up in very satisfying fashion. There are some "coming atcha" 3D moments (see above), particularly in the "normal world" sequence, but by the time you reach the mid-point of the movie, the 3D is barely noticeable - perhaps a deficiency of the whole process, and Hollywood's total inability to make the format work outside of Avatar...
Anyway... What could have been an angsty train-wreck is far from it. The fantasy elements are often quite restrained, such as witches who don't just wave a wand and fix everything in an instant, and that makes it easier to build a more appealing whole. Oh, and it's not a musical. There's a great scene where the Munchkins are introduced, and... look, just go and see for yourself. Plain and simple, Oz for the 21st Century doesn't disappoint. Will we be getting more? The film closes with a fairly unambiguous "The End", but there are plenty more original Oz stories that haven't been covered yet. The foundation is there, of that there's no doubt!
The Final Verdict... A world that should've been revisited a loooong time ago - or maybe now was just the right time. Technicolour bright when it could have been all dark and grim - a shining light in the gloom. 8/10
