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Sound Off: Sam Raimi's 'Oz the Great & Powerful' - Your Thoughts?

by Alex Billington
March 8, 2013

Now that you've seen it, what did you think? "Are you the great man we've been waiting for?" In theaters now is the latest colorful Disney creation, Oz the Great and Powerful, returning audiences to same world as Wizard of Oz for the origin of the great wizard of Oz, played by James Franco. At the helm is Evil Dead/Spider-Man director Sam Raimi, and besides Franco, his cast includes Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams as the three witches of Oz. How is this fantastic adventure? As meaningful as it is entertaining? Once you've seen it, post a comment with your thoughts on Oz the Great & Powerful.

To fuel the fire, I enjoyed some parts of Oz the Great and Powerful, but overall found the movie to be rather "meh". I'm glad I saw it, but I don't plan on seeing it again anytime soon. First things first, because it's a Sam Raimi movie, he does get all of his usual awesome style in there (from the horror scenes to POV shots to Bruce Campbell cameos) and I love seeing all of that. But beyond that, there's not much to it, I found myself a little bored by the story at and hand, while often just waiting for more action. The best scene is, of course, the final payoff and setup with the big smoke screen at the end. It works perfectly and I enjoyed the heck out of watching all that come together, but aside from the Sam Raimi spectacle I didn't really enjoy it.

What did you think of Oz the Great and Powerful? Disney at its finest, or a colorful disaster? We will remove any comments that indicate you have not seen the movie, as this area is meant to discuss the film only once you have seen it and can talk about your thoughts. Please keep the comments civilized!

Filed under Discuss, Hype, Sound Off

From around the web:

http://www.facebook.com/people/Brad-White/1458067169 Brad White
J Shampton

I saw it last night and I really couldn't be more pleased. They're messing with a classic, of course, which is always dangerous. Given the circumstances, I don't know how it could have been done any better. Visually it was stunning. I love the portrayal of Oz as a greasy dirtbag, and who better to play that role? It paid proper tribute to the original movie, and shared similar themes, while still remaining somewhat original.
M Meerdter

I liked it as did my wife. The kids in the theater must have liked it, they were very quiet. I wish I'd have seen it in 3D, several scenes were set up screaming for 3D effects. May see it again this time in 3D.
- http://www.facebook.com/eganser1990 Erica Ganser
  
  I personally suggest it in 3D, I found it incredible. Especially the introduction to Oz with all the colorful plants and things! Among many, many other parts.
Bryan

Oz the Great and Powerful in 3D is like retinal crack! That's a good thing. Great movie!
Alex Gramlich

All I can say is, that I liked, but it could be a little better, specially with Disney evolved in project. Incredible in IMAX 3D, and loved the Small screen Black and White to Widescreen Color, that was the key to transport me to the original OZ.
http://www.facebook.com/Tyban Tyler Bannock

Good but not great. The CGI was amazing. I wish it was rated PG-13 and was a little scarier. They could have done more with the flying monkeys that way. I think Disney held back Sam.
- vfxmonkey
  
  The CGI was horrible. Why would Sam Raimi use the same company, Sony Imageworks, that messed up the Spider-Man effects? He clearly should have turned to ILM.
  - Daniel_Plainview_Milkshake
    
    Spider-man 2 has some amazing VFX
  - http://www.facebook.com/Tyban Tyler Bannock
    
    Did you even watch the movie?
    - TTF
      
      Did you?
  - Danny Dimian
    
    I concur. Visual Effects for this show was laughable. The monkey was a throw back to Jumanji.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Taylor-Schriner/100000028404264 Taylor Schriner

I thought it was good, not great, had bad pacing and Franco could have been better but i enjoyed my time in oz.
NJamesNC

I really enjoyed it. Visually it was beautiful, and in 3D was very interactive. The story was good, very comedic with inspiring charactar developements. It did a good job as a prequel, and as a stand alone film it was col. Definitely would take my kids to it. Saw it with my Mom and Step Dad and they enjoyed it as well. Hope they do the sequel, but if not you're not left hanging. Thanks Mr Raimi, for a real cool ride through your cinimatically stunning land of Oz.
- http://www.facebook.com/zackbarresse Zack Barresse
  
  Couldn't agree more James! Character development was very good.
Random

I saw the 2D version last night, it was good. Not great. I know it won't ever be a classic like the original. It suffered from pacing in the beginning, and some of the acting going into the 2nd act was stilted. Mila Kunis got better as the movie went, but in the beginning it seemed like she was waiting for someone to feed her lines. I wish another director had taken h/her shot, Raimi did not seem inspired by this story. The script was well thought out within the framework of OZ, pace was a little slow, but overall I liked it for being family friendly. Just an opinion.
Another Movie Critic

Probably because I'm in my mid40's, but I thought it was great. Decent story, took time to set itself up, and then picked up steam with a huge finish. Did great justice to the original Wizard of Oz movie. My mom (76) and daughter (24) felt the same. My two sons (15) and (12) only thought it was ok.
Ralston

The movie was too long and dragged in many, many parts. The VFX were really bad. I know it's the same vfx house as Alice, but the VFX Supervisor is awful. He must have no eye for this kind of work. Definitely wait for Netflix.
http://twitter.com/SeanBonau Sean B.

This was one of the best Disney movies i have ever seen! I am totally looking forward to seeing the the next movie!
B Morriss

Raimi has really ceased to be original a long time ago. He’s just rehashing one or two storylines over and over again masked with different characters. Darkman and Spidey 2 have the same storylines. As for Oz, the visual effects were really atrocious. It kept pulling me out of the film. The VFX Supervisor has no eye for it. Raimi should have hired Ken Ralston instead, the man behind Alice. Instead he got a B level supe. The story was too long and boring in a lot of places. The acting was stiff at times and poor. I’m so glad I didn’t take the entire family to see this. They’ll have to wait for Netflix streaming at best.
watcher_skys

perfect example of everything wrong with Hollywood. Franco was there just for the paycheck. total waste of time and money
Emdub52

I liked it. I didn't stand and clap at the end but I thought it was defiantly entertaining.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Matthew-Sam-Russell/597160506 Matthew Sam Russell

zach braff was the best part of it for me tbh, without his humor this film would have been unwatchable.
MRG

It is a kids movie people but..... I loved Kunis in her tight leather pants and boots, thats some hot evil witch. Trying to be politically correct with races felt funky and weird at the same time. Did they had affirmative action in Oz? Why there were no racial mixes among the couples? Caucasians rule in Oz too? See where I am getting...
dangeer

Loved it.
MMAniac911

I watched the original the morning before I saw this and its so great, this movie was a pretty huge letdown for me. I love Mila Kunis in almost everything she does and it didn't work for me at all, I thought she was really not good in her role, the witches back story didn't make any sense and the way they behaved, especially Mila Kunis character was annoying, clingy for no reason then bitchy, while screaming and yelling. The CGI sometimes almost looked like a cartoon instead of hyper realistic. It tried to combine Oz, Harry potter, and idk Hansel and Gretel or something, honestly I thought Hansel and Gretel was a lot better. I also don't know about the books but I don't understand how it connects to the original, I mean Oz was in the real world as a circus magician that Dorothy met and she sent her back home but he stayed in OZ in this new movie, it just doesn't make any sense and pales in comparison to the original in every way possible.
VAharleywitch

Overall, decent film. My son enjoyed it (hasn't yet seen the original). My 67 y/o dad & I liked the nods to the original. Not repeat viewable, but not a show I regret. Only thing I really didn't care for was the extreme naivete of Mila/Theodora.
http://www.jimmylove.com/ Jimmy Love

Good flick,good character development, the witches were HOT! good humor and Bruce getting more abuse.
gern

it wasn't bad. I liked it, but it was far inferior to the 1939 film.