Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)

Oz is bursting with great visuals and powerful special effects so stunning that they are beautiful works of art by themselves.  The film is full of crisp, vibrant colors that help to contribute in transporting you to another world; the Land of Oz to be exact.

Upon hearing rumors many months ago that this movie was going into production, I was extremely skeptical.  Why doesn’t Hollywood leave well enough alone?  Why do they insist on fixing something that is not broken?  The original film (The Wizard of Oz (1939) is a timeless classic.  It is one of the most famous and beloved movies ever made.  Even 74 years later, the film could never be made better.  Why try to even compete?

I found out that this new movie was going to be a prequel.  I was still just as skeptical.  I forgot about it for a while until I finally saw a preview for it.  The preview was intriguing enough for me to want to see it.

Oz the Great and Powerful was very tastefully written and filmed.  It did not try to compete with the original, and it never could.  I was impressed by how the Land of Oz was recreated.  No, it was not the same as the Oz that we all know and love, but it was a nice tribute to that Oz.  The scenes in black and white were reminiscent to the scenes in Kansas that we all grew up watching.  Not the same, but entertaining to watch.

The movie was a fun take on what happened in Oz before Dorothy got there.  It tells the tale of how Oz himself ended up there.  You get to see how the wicked witch became wicked and who her sister was long before she gets a house dropped on her.  Glinda the good witch is there and so are the munchkins.

The movie is filled with capable actors like James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff, Bill Cobbs, Tony Cox, Bruce Campbell, and Ted Raimi.  They all give decent, likable performances.  Nobody really stands out, but that’s okay.

I can’t imagine how much pressure Sam Raimi was under when he directed this movie.  There are big shoes that he could never fill.

The film does not try to intertwine with the original and that is what strongly works in its favor.  It is a whole different story and a whole different movie.  If you don’t expect it to actually be the original, then you might actually enjoy it like I did.

I rate this movie an 8 on a scale of 1-10.

Buy, rent, or run?  Buy.