Oz the Great and Powerful
As much as I enjoyed Sam Raimi's new movie, which is breezy and bright in myriad
dimensions, I doubt his story will exert a comparable hold on the popular
imagination for generations to come.
The new "Oz" falls short of the
1939 "Oz" in charm and innocence and certainly in songs (there is only one, a
brief, jokey number from the Munchkins). But as family entertainment, it's hard
to fault such a rapturous spectacle and astute, suspenseful piece of
storytelling.
But we're no longer watching Dorothy, an innocent abroad. Instead, we have James
Franco's Oscar Diggs ("Oz" for short), a charismatic charlatan and a two-bit
showman with an eye for the ladies -- any lady, really; wiccans welcome! If
there's a throne and a treasure trove at the end of the rainbow, maybe he'll
stick around the next morning.
Franco doesn't quite get there,
for me, in this role.
He's an unconvincing fraud and a
shaky charlatan -- too young, perhaps, to fool anyone except himself. Or, maybe
he's just too contemporary to pass as a 19th century illusionist. Reportedly,
Robert Downey Jr. and Johnny Depp turned down the role, and either might have
played him with more aplomb.
"Oz the Great and Powerful" plays with the notion of making people believe through spectacle and trickery – that what you see is more important than what you actually get. It's Oz's bread and butter and it's a primary tenet of the moviemaking process itself, of course. But this time, something is missing in the magic.
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