My Review of Oz, The Great and Powerful

Kudos to Disney and Sam Raimi.  They have successfully scammed us with a movie about a scammer. In the end, it's likely that the movie will make upwards of $80 Million. Looks like they finally learned their lesson from John Carter, which was a better movie but bombed largely in part to incompetent marketing.  If there were movie marketing awards, Disney would take the prize this year.

For the record, I have never really 'liked' a Sam Raimi film.  His most famous films were the original Spider-man trilogy, which I thought were despicable.  He never takes the characters seriously enough to get me to care for them.  He lets the details slide that make a fantastical scenario believable, which is why I consider him among the most overrated directors in our day.  Unfortunately, America doesn't seem to agree with me.  They flock to his films like the Salmon of Capistrano.   

THE GOOD
The movie is very beautiful to look at.  The scenery is a spectacle and the costumes are great.  And with the exception of the green one who must not be named, the three witches are just beautiful.  Mila Kunis is the only thing that makes the first 1/3 of the movie bearable.

The last 30 minutes or so were very well done.  It wrapped things up in a really fun and epic way.

THE BAD
Looks aside, everyone besides Rachel Weisz was miscast, in particular James Franco.  He did well enough, but even if Sam Raimi weren't the director, he is still not believable in that type of character.  With the exceptions of Glinda and Evanora, I never felt invested in any of the characters.  It is worth noting that the lead was offered to both Robert Downey Jr. AND Johnny Depp, both of which turned it down.  Also, Blake Lively was originally offered the role of Glinda, which I think would have been better.

The green wicked witch was so awful.  That's all I have to say about that.

It's so strange how often the movie jumps between camp and sincerity.  The end sequence was the only part I was able to take seriously.

CONCLUSION
Once again, I find myself in the minority of the general movie going audience: most folks seem to be liking it, whereas I was thoroughly disappointed and confused.  There's a strong chance that you will like this movie, especially if you appreciated the Spider-man movies.  2/5 Stars.