The Mediocre and Annoying Oz, more like it.
Went along with a bunch of the local bears (led by heypyro) to see "The Great and Powerful Oz" at Cinebarre. While I won't say that it's a terrible film, it had a number of flaws that irked me and a few that were even unforgivable. I think the film is fine on a basic level appropriate for children as they'll be spending their whole time Ooh-ing and Aah-ing, but as an adult I found it fairly annoying.
Almost certainly spoilers below.
It's a shame to have certain elements of a movie spoiled for you, right? Well, this movie flips you the finger as it spoils *the great mystery* of the film right in the credits. Yup, as you watch the (admittedly well-crafted) pop-up book animations you'll get to see who the Wicked Witch of the West actually is. Yay. Hey, thanks, Disney, for ruining my single curiosity about this film.
Having been irked by thoughtless design, I find myself gaining an irresistible desire to punch James Franco. As a circus con-man, Oscar (aka, OZ) uses over-the-top hammy acting to woo deeply stupid people. Pity, really, because Franco seems to be doing the same thing to the audience, with unending forced lines, a startling inability to convincingly interact with non-real characters, and awkward physical motions during certain parts of the story. I felt like he was doing this film only half-heartedly, which made most of my time watching it rather put out by his on-screen presence.
The CG characters had no heft. None of them. Sure, the textures and animations were good for them, but at no time did China Doll or Finley affect the physical world in a way that I could believe. Each time China was carried the actors/actresses made the motions of carrying something, the motions/subtle movements of the hands, shoulders, etc. didn't reflect any mass was being moved. Franco was the worst, but everyone seemed to have a hard time with it.
The wonderful world of Oz... Oh, so, so "magical." Remember seeing the first Harry Potter film? How everything was just SO amazing and SO mysterious and YOU SHOULD BE FASCINATED BY HOW MAGICAL EVERYTHING IS? Beemer says it's too on-the-nose; being almost aware of how amazing it is, so it's going to go into absurd detail about that very fact. Aside from some random dangers, Oz is so saccharine it's a bit nauseating.
Oz, the character, is written to be an ass. I'd like to point out that he functionally disarms all the women he meets, forcing pretty much each and every female in the movie to *need* him. His toying with the heart of Theodora placed her in a position of love-struck, naive girl, hoping that he will become her King. Evanora, though wicked and wily, still needs Oz to lash out at Glinda (though I'm certain she could have found other people to pull off that plan), and Glinda needs Oz to save everyone (despite her rather impressive magical ability). He even goes so far as to take the tiny knife from China; a tiny knife that happened to be the only defense the porcelain doll had (especially after the events in China Town). In the original books, it was female vs. female characters, but here we get a Man who is expected to solve all of the Woman's problems. Disney? Fuck you.
While I understand that Universal owns the right to the ruby slippers, preventing them from appearing in this film, where was the reference to the silver shoes from the original story? They allowed the wearer to go anywhere they wish, so I guess it would have been too convenient plot-wise to include them (despite Evanora being able to fly, command winged baboons, and scry via a crystal ball.)
On a final note, I'd rather torn about having seen it in 3D. Yes, many of the visuals were decent enough with this fun visual trick, and even a few moments stood out as an impressive touch (the falling snow was incredible!), but my conflict come with rapidly moving scenes. 3D doesn't work well with fast scenes or swift creatures because the low frames-per-second prevent fluid motion of the scene, leaving us seeing a 'jumpy' animation or setting. The ghostly plants, the waterfall, etc., would probably be seen better in 2D. Oh, and just so you know, there are FAR too many jump-out-at-you moments and cheap scares. After only a short amount of time into the film, I found myself expecting jumps/shocks to be at certain points because of how it's framed in the scene. Overused and uninspired.
I suppose you could just turn off your brain and watch the pretty movie, but you're smarter than that. Hell, we all ought to be. This altered and imperfect tale might entertain if you somehow overlook the horde of flaws, but I doubt that you can let this many issues slide without it lessening your trip.
Oh! Don't bother sticking around for post-credit content. There is none. When the credits roll, go home.
Almost certainly spoilers below.
It's a shame to have certain elements of a movie spoiled for you, right? Well, this movie flips you the finger as it spoils *the great mystery* of the film right in the credits. Yup, as you watch the (admittedly well-crafted) pop-up book animations you'll get to see who the Wicked Witch of the West actually is. Yay. Hey, thanks, Disney, for ruining my single curiosity about this film.
Having been irked by thoughtless design, I find myself gaining an irresistible desire to punch James Franco. As a circus con-man, Oscar (aka, OZ) uses over-the-top hammy acting to woo deeply stupid people. Pity, really, because Franco seems to be doing the same thing to the audience, with unending forced lines, a startling inability to convincingly interact with non-real characters, and awkward physical motions during certain parts of the story. I felt like he was doing this film only half-heartedly, which made most of my time watching it rather put out by his on-screen presence.
The CG characters had no heft. None of them. Sure, the textures and animations were good for them, but at no time did China Doll or Finley affect the physical world in a way that I could believe. Each time China was carried the actors/actresses made the motions of carrying something, the motions/subtle movements of the hands, shoulders, etc. didn't reflect any mass was being moved. Franco was the worst, but everyone seemed to have a hard time with it.
The wonderful world of Oz... Oh, so, so "magical." Remember seeing the first Harry Potter film? How everything was just SO amazing and SO mysterious and YOU SHOULD BE FASCINATED BY HOW MAGICAL EVERYTHING IS? Beemer says it's too on-the-nose; being almost aware of how amazing it is, so it's going to go into absurd detail about that very fact. Aside from some random dangers, Oz is so saccharine it's a bit nauseating.
Oz, the character, is written to be an ass. I'd like to point out that he functionally disarms all the women he meets, forcing pretty much each and every female in the movie to *need* him. His toying with the heart of Theodora placed her in a position of love-struck, naive girl, hoping that he will become her King. Evanora, though wicked and wily, still needs Oz to lash out at Glinda (though I'm certain she could have found other people to pull off that plan), and Glinda needs Oz to save everyone (despite her rather impressive magical ability). He even goes so far as to take the tiny knife from China; a tiny knife that happened to be the only defense the porcelain doll had (especially after the events in China Town). In the original books, it was female vs. female characters, but here we get a Man who is expected to solve all of the Woman's problems. Disney? Fuck you.
While I understand that Universal owns the right to the ruby slippers, preventing them from appearing in this film, where was the reference to the silver shoes from the original story? They allowed the wearer to go anywhere they wish, so I guess it would have been too convenient plot-wise to include them (despite Evanora being able to fly, command winged baboons, and scry via a crystal ball.)
On a final note, I'd rather torn about having seen it in 3D. Yes, many of the visuals were decent enough with this fun visual trick, and even a few moments stood out as an impressive touch (the falling snow was incredible!), but my conflict come with rapidly moving scenes. 3D doesn't work well with fast scenes or swift creatures because the low frames-per-second prevent fluid motion of the scene, leaving us seeing a 'jumpy' animation or setting. The ghostly plants, the waterfall, etc., would probably be seen better in 2D. Oh, and just so you know, there are FAR too many jump-out-at-you moments and cheap scares. After only a short amount of time into the film, I found myself expecting jumps/shocks to be at certain points because of how it's framed in the scene. Overused and uninspired.
I suppose you could just turn off your brain and watch the pretty movie, but you're smarter than that. Hell, we all ought to be. This altered and imperfect tale might entertain if you somehow overlook the horde of flaws, but I doubt that you can let this many issues slide without it lessening your trip.
Oh! Don't bother sticking around for post-credit content. There is none. When the credits roll, go home.