'Oz The Great and Powerful' Caves to Blockbuster Conventions with Visuals but is Respectful to Fleming's Beloved 1939 Classic

"Oz the Great and Powerful" is rated PG and opens this weekend at Gateway Cinemas 12. The movie is playing in the BigD Experience at 1:15 (a non-3D showing), followed by 3D showings at 4:15, 7:05 and 10:00. The movie is also showing outside the BigD Experience in 3D at 1:00 and 6:50. Regular, non-3D showings are at 4:00 and 9:45. 

The premise, courtesy of IMDb: 

Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz. At first he thinks he's hit the jackpot — fame and fortune are his for the taking. That all changes when he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late.

What critics are saying: 

As a series of sights, which movies like these are, 'Oz the Great and Powerful' is more like 'Oz the Digital and Relentless.' Certainly this is true in its final half-hour, which seemed to me to be all explosions. — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

Oh, it has its moments of movie magic, in moving scenes where the orphaned miniature porcelain China Girl — the film's best character —appears. But too often, 'Oz' caves to blockbuster conventions, preoccupied with creating a visual template to make Oz magnificent when Oz's magnificence has more to do with the heart and the soul rather than the spectacle of large blooming flowers and cascading waterfalls. — Randy Myers, Contra Costa Times

Like Oscar, though, the picture is better at misdirection than at making magic. Raimi, who launched his career with the cheapo horror mini-masterpiece 'The Evil Dead' before helming the blockbuster 'Spider-Man' trilogy, can’t infuse the story with much verve or joy. — Richard Corliss, Time Magazine

The new spinoff from L. Frank Baum's 1900 children's novel 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' may not be great, exactly, but it is powerfully entertaining. A prequel that imagines the origins of the famous wizard character, 'Oz the Great and Powerful' reveals his humble carny beginnings in Kansas and continues through his vaunted existence in the Emerald City. 'Oz' is respectful to Victor Fleming's beloved 1939 film classic, incorporating famous lines and retaining plot points that audiences know well. — Claudia Puig, USA Today

"Oz, the Great and Powerful" is rated PG and runs 130 minutes. 

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