By M. WILLIAM SMITH
Staff Writer
I’ve been a fan of Sam Raimi ever since I was in elementary school. I endlessly re-watched his Spider-Man films in my preteen years (Spider-Man 2 still stands as one of the best superhero films of all time), and I endlessly re-watched his Evil Dead films as a teenager (quite possibly the most perfect trilogy to ever exist in cinema history, or at least in the top five). I’ve seen Drag Me to Hell and Darkman more times than I can count, and so on and so forth. The point is I’m a big fan of the guy. Raimi has a dynamic style, one that works best when celebrating in the inherent silliness of the subject at hand, whether it’s about a teenager with spider-powers or a man with a chainsaw on his hand fighting evil demons.
I’m less a fan of the recent trend of fairy tales being re-imagined to show off an epic adventure. Alice in Wonderland, Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman, Jack the Giant Slayer, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, etc. It’s a trend that I hope dies out soon, but we’ll probably see at least a bit more of in the future. My fear going in to Oz the Great and Powerful was that Disney might hamper Raimi’s distinctive style. I’m happy to say, then, that this is a Sam Raimi film from start to finish. It’s not just any Sam Raimi film, either. It’s practically a remake of the third film in his Evil Dead series, Army of Darkness, with the trappings of a Disney Wizard of Oz prequel.
Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I’m not the only one I’ve seen to make the comparison. Both films feature a self-centered protagonist who gets transported to a fantasy land where he is hailed as king of the people and must help them fight off the evil forces that are about to attack. Basic plot summary aside, both films share a similar sense of humor, and even the sets look sort of the same (the graveyards in both films look practically identical). This was enough to make Oz sort of a joy to watch, just to continue noticing the parallels between it and Army of Darkness.
By now, you’re saying, “Mike, that’s all fine and dandy, but that doesn’t tell me if Oz is any good or not! You call yourself a reviewer?” And you’re absolutely right, so I’ll get right into that. It’s a tricky proposition making a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, one of the most beloved stories of the last century. Even though Raimi is crafting the film as a prequel to the novel by L. Frank Baum, there are several allusions to the classic 1939 film throughout (the opening prologue, done in sepia tone and a 4:3 Academy aspect ratio, is particularly clever).
The visual effects are often spectacular, creating a more interesting and vivid world than Disney’s previous attempt at something like this, Alice in Wonderland (again, terrible). The cast, centered by James Franco, is also a lot of fun to be around. Franco plays Oz as narcissistic, selfish, and really kind of a jerk (just like Ash from Army of Darkness! Ok, I’m done). This could turn some people off, but I found it kind of refreshing, actually. We have so many heroes in our films who are so perfect and self-righteous, who will always do the right thing, that I actually gave a small cheer when Oz did a Scrooge McDuck-style jump into a pile of money and used that as his motivation for most of the film.
The rest of the cast is mostly pretty strong. Zach Braff scores the biggest laughs as Oz’s partner, a talking monkey, and Joey King’s porcelain doll is surprisingly heartbreaking. Michelle Williams does fine in a role that doesn’t do anything particularly interesting, and Rachel Weisz plays an over-the-top villain very nicely. The only weak link in the cast is Mila Kunis, who never really gets a grasp on her character. She has a lot to live up to, considering the character’s role in the original film, but everything from her voice to her appearance just feels off.
The film does lose some steam by the time it reaches the end, giving the sense that losing ten minutes or so would have helped the pacing immeasurably, but it’s a minor flaw in what is ultimately a fun, entertaining adventure. It doesn’t stand in the upper echelons of Sam Raimi’s filmography, but he brings his own distinct touch to bring the project to life and lets it soar above the recent slate of fairy tale epics we’ve been subjected to. And hey, it’s also basically Army of Darkness, which I’m going to go to have to go re-watch right now. Because when it comes time to look at Raimi’s films, you always have to hail to the king, baby.
Final Grade: B
