Oz The Great and Powerful (2013) Review

Rachel Weisz as Evanora

Oz the Great and Powerful is a 2013 adventure/fantasy film directed by Sam Raimi (The original Spider-Man trilogy) and takes a different look on the tale of The Wizard of Oz. So different it doesn't even feature Dorothy. This is a gutsy move by Disney which I respect. I believe that new is good and let's throw away the remakes and bring reboots along.

The story starts with a magician named Oscar Diggs (played by James Franco) who has affair with various women telling them all the same back stories and giving each a music box (of which he has a lot of copies). He later on goes to include them in his magic shows but as members of the audience. This pattern goes on with his trusty sidekick and assistant Frank (Zach Braff) on his side until he accidentally has an affair with the Strongman (Tim Holmes)'s wife (Toni Wynne) and this causes the Strongman to attack Oz during a hurricane. This hurricane sweeps Oscar and his getaway hot air balloon to a mystical land named Oz. There he meets a beautiful witch named Theodora (Mila Kunis) who later on falls in love with him and believes he is the destined wizard who will defeat the Wicked Witch. As his journey to find a way back goes on he encounters a flying monkey who he later saves from a lion and that causes the monkey to swear a lifetime allegiance to Oscar. Later Theodora takes them to the castle where they meet Evanora, her sister. She promises Oscar a room full of gold if he kills the Wicked Witch of the south. She explains that her crime is murdering of the King of Oz who Evanora used to be an adviser of. As they progress through the Kingdom of Oz he enters a town made of china. But sees all the town people dead. Later on he finds a china girl (Joey King) with broken legs. He fixes her legs with glue and she becomes a member of their team as they set to find and kill The Wicked Witch of the South.

Having watched the original Wizard of Oz from 1934 I liked this movie. Mainly because the story is a whole other take and also it serves as a story before Dorothy Gale's birth. (Which is referenced in the movie when Annie, a former love interest of Oscar tells him John Gale has proposed to him.) Overall the film had great special effect and great twists and turns. It also covers up the story and didn't leave much questions with answering them all. It also shows the rise of a small-time-magician to a hero of a kingdom in a great way. I give this movie about a 9/10. I took one out because (spoiler alert) Theodora becomes a villain later on.