Oz the Great and Powerful

2013  PG  FANTASY  2h 10min

CAST— James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff, Bill Cobbs, Joey King, Tony Cox

MUSIC— Danny Elfman  DIRECTOR— Sam Raimi

     More like Oz the Fair and Mild. James Franco stars as the man behind the curtain, carnival magician by trade, con man by nature. Using a hot air balloon to escape a beating from the carnival strongman Oz is caught up in a twister and whisked away to the land that bears his name. There he meets a young witch who claims that Oz is to fulfill a prophecy that will grant freedom to the people of Oz. To do so he must defeat this witch and her sister, all the while falling for another witch, Glinda the Good. With an assortment of oz-landish characters Oz and Glinda take the fight to the wicked witches, using all manner of deceit and trickery as a means of battle. Never becomes the tale of wonder and whimsy that one might be craving. The film feels disjointed and separated from the 1939 vision of the merry old land of Oz. Even so, the younger set may still be attracted.

OUR RATING— ** ½