There’s a disturbing trend lately where filmmakers purposely make a movie as a provocation to an impending series. They create incomplete chapters to sucker the audience into another sequel and the film ends abruptly without giving any answers to the story it presents. It offers no finality but forces us to stay tuned in and shell out money for another movie which may or may not give the conclusions it promised. To me, it’s a sense of laziness. By barely moving the story along, they make the film a feature length tease that answers no questions therefore providing the audience with very little information. I’m shaking my fist at Prometheus which is a recent example of this. When the film is finished, there are no actual story arcs. Just a portion of a tale that leaves audiences feeling unfulfilled. This is why I was a little weary to see Oz the Great and Powerful. Before it even got released they were talking about sequels which quite frankly, made me uneasy. It felt like they were going to take a concept and try to draw it out through multiple pictures. However, upon viewing the film I am glad to say that I was wrong.
Disney has definitely been doing their homework. Oz the Great and Powerful can definitely be viewed as a worthy precursor to The Wizard of Oz. While the story itself is original and is not an adaptation of any Oz material that has come before it, they definitely payed great respect to it’s source material. Both to the books written by Frank L. Baum and the classic 1939 film. Sam Raimi has crafted a worthy companion piece that is actually great for children to watch and sends a solid moral message in the form of it’s main character Oscar Diggs. A man who strives to be great but has to face aspects of the people he wronged in life, personified by the characters he encounters in the magical land of Oz.
The film has definitely been crafted with a lot of heart whose rich design not only gives a painterly beauty but invokes a wonder that’s seldom seen in today’s fantasy pictures. It was a nostalgic touch to have the film begin in black and white while maintaining a square 4:3 aspect ratio only to switch to colorful widescreen upon arriving to Oz. The movie was picturesque and beautiful, picking a palette that looked like technicolor on crack and while some critics slandered the acting as not being up to par, I totally disagree. The performances felt like an extension of the Judy Garland classic which I’m sure is what they were going for.
Everything was cleverly well structured. With aspects from multiple portions all coming together in the end. It felt like we were watching something complete. What Oz the Great and Powerful reminded me of is what today's filmmakers seem to forget. That even the best series contain individual films that can be seen as absolute narratives. It has a beginning, middle and an end. Even though they may hint that a sequel is yet to come, it does a good job of tying up character arcs within the movie to make the audience feel like they saw something finished. That’s why people can argue whether Raiders or The Last Crusade had a better story. Or which Lord of the Rings film had a better conclusion. Even though these movies are portions of something bigger, we felt that those individual chapters began and ended. Not only does Oz the Great and Powerful pay tribute to the classic 1939 film but it can also be seen as a stand alone. Although, should they want to continue the series, the setup can definitely go on well into other stories before the arrival of Dorothy Gale.
That's exactly what the movie is: fun. Granted, the movie does have its fair share of flaws, but it's still enjoyable. Good review Dio.
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