..maybe not all great, perhaps not so powerful...but...not bad. Not bad at all.
Saw it at a matinee this morning, in 3D. And I'm happy to say that it's not the Wonderland debacle. It's much much better. It has real magic in it, a real sense of, well, wonder. In this film, Oz seems like a "real, truly live place", thanks to a judicious and artful use of CG. It's stunning, and whimsical, and not the least bit Tim Burtonesque, which in my view is a plus. (Burton's palette is somewhat limited, and so stylized it gets a bit wearying on the eyes before long).
But best of all...the movie enchants you the very minute it starts. (Spoilers below).
The film opens with the usual Disney castle signature...or rather, not so usual. It's in black-and-white, and CG is used to give the effect of an old stereopticon - one of those old-fashioned 3D viewers with cards, the predecessor of the Viewmaster. And wow...WOW. We go right inSIDE the Castle, and the wonders we see...simply put, I was spellbound. It's simply one of the best sequences I have ever seen in any movie EVER. Whew! Blew my mind. I thought, "This might be all right."
By contrast, the Oz sequences aren't quite up to that dazzling opening spectacle...but they are pretty darn good, just the same, in their own right. There are loving homages to the 1939 film everywhere, and they're cleverly done, and add to the rich nostalgia the film evokes. Of course, Disney had to be careful, because rival studio Warner Bros. owns the rights to the Victor Fleming version of Oz (there's one sequence in which the characters travel by bubble, a la Glinda in the original film -a form of magical conveyance L. Frank Baum did not invent - how'd Disney get away with that?) But there are enough hints from the original film, and bits and pieces from Baum's books, to make the Disney Land of Oz seem authentic. That is frankly something I didn't expect, or dare to hope for...but damned if Disney didn't do it.
Now, of course, this film does NOT, cannot, match the sparkle, the wit and the heart of the immortal MGM classic. That was an unusual alchemy of acting, art, words and music that perhaps can never be repeated. But you know, just the same, one has to wonder...can't anybody in Hollywood write good dialogue anymore? There are lines in this "Oz" that don't register, jokes that fall flat, situations that seem forced...you know what I mean, such unfortunate blunders seem to occur in too many modern movies. You really have to wonder why. The people who made the original Oz film probably weren't as educated and didn't have the technical tricks at their disposal the way modern screenwriters do. And yet bad writing abounds in Hollywood, ESPECIALLY in fantasy films. That kind of thing is what sank Wonderland. And it comes close to sinking Oz too.
But I'm happy to say...it doesn't come THAT close. The bad dialogue is more of a momentary irritant rather than a tonal disaster. Sam Raimi has managed to cobble together a fantasy that holds together throughout. As for the acting - James Franco is fine as the wayward Wizard. Rachel Weisz and Mila Kunis are fine as the Witches of East and West. The only letdown is Michelle Williams as Glinda. Really, she looks more like a beauty contest entrant than a luminous Good Witch (Billie Burke could eat her lunch). But she's not a disaster. As for the creatures - by far the China Girl is the best. She is lovable and very convincing - akin to the kind of wondrousness the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion provided in the original film.
Personally, I could have done without the mushy stuff in the film. The kids around me got restless at those points, and frankly I did too. I don't like the idea of the Wizard getting cozy with the Witches - that is way too far out of canon for my comfort. But again, this unfortunate element isn't a film-killer.
So all in all, I'd give "Oz, the Great and Powerful" 3 out of 4 emeralds. I rather enjoyed this second trip down the Yellow Brick Road. If it's not quite the Oz I love, it's an Oz I'm comfortable with. And that's much more than I expected.
the monkey was so cute! It was really funny and cool! 
