For those of us who can’t afford to go to the movies, or just chose not to because of how expensive it is, I have decided to review the films that are On Demand (Verizon Fios is my provider) for the readers of Hashtag Studios. That way, when you sit down at home and order a movie, you know what you’re paying for.
Oz The Great and Powerful is about a magician, Oscar “Oz” Diggs (James Franco), who gets swept away by a tornado, during a storm, to the land of Oz. When he crash lands in Oz, he is met by Theodora (Mila Kunis) who tells him of a prophecy stating that a man named Oz would fall from the skies and overthrow the wicked witch. Oz gets caught up in a power struggle between the three witches of Oz and has to fight to help the people defend their land.
The film falls flat. One reason is because of the lack of back story in the beginning. The true love interest of Oz was introduced without any explanation as to how the two met. Oz is a womanizer in the film, but there is that one woman, Annie/Glinda (Michelle Williams) who got away. However, there is no explanation as to why the two ended their relationship, if they ever had one; all the audience learns is that he sees her whenever he passes through her town. The film also falls flat because some of the performances from some of the actors weren’t very good.
However, who is the wicked witch? The film does a decent job of hiding this. Accompanied with visually stunning imagery, the film is a wonder for the eye to see. It kept taking me back to the film from 1939; The Wizard of Oz.