Where the acting does work, marvellously and in every scene is Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams. Maybe it's his acting style, I can't really put my finger on it, but clearly Raimi sees something in him because he has worked with him previously on the Spiderman films. At times it looked like he was in the role, other times it felt like he couldn't care. Unfortunately I don't know if he has enough charisma and power to command a film like this. It works in some films like Pineapple Express and he does manage to turn in some great performances, look at 127 days or Freaks & Geeks for that. He is the type of actor that comes off as not really caring. Raimi steers the film in the right direction, but it is James Franco's shoulders it has to rest on. Despite the "fakeness" of some of the scenes (not all) Raimi does a decent job of not letting the effects overpower the film. The film opens in black & white and and the transformation to colour had a smile on my face. Not enough time is really given to her for her transformation to affect the viewer. Consider that the failure of the script more so than the actors.
Seeing the Kunis character go in the direction she does didn't really effect me as much as I wanted it to. I don't really know why I'm tip-toeing around the issue because those who know The Wizard of Oz, know that Dorothy kills one witch with her house and the other with water, leaving Glinda the good witch in a bubble as the saviour. The story for her character here is a sad one and the second half I think suffers a bit because the threat from her is not really present. I think she was chosen more for her beauty and star power than her acting abilities, which is sad cause it looks like she really is trying here. While I'm getting the negatives out of the way, I must say that what everyone is saying about Mila Kunis is true, she was miscast in this role. Both Wonderland and Oz have this same feeling. The first major offender of this is Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, none of the actors made me believe they were in the settings they were. I hate overly used CGI in films to the point of noticing the awkward placement of actors in front of the green screen. This film suffers from the same troubles that plagued Burton's Alice in Wonderland, the visuals, although great for the story, add no sense of realism to the image. The land of Oz is indeed magical, with vibrant colours around every corner, memorable spots like the poppy fields and the dark forest for us older viewers, but even in saying all that I can't help but feel how fake it all is. The films shortcomings keep it from being really magical and memorable, like the original from 39, but Oz has enough whimsy to keep the kids entertained and the adults smiling. After his work on big budget films like Spiderman, it seemed like an easy choice for Raimi to be the one behind Oz and for the most part, it works. Oz the Great & Powerful is a CGI heavy film that demands a creative eye behind the lens. So to see him handling big projects like this (and Spiderman) was a joy for me to see.
I love Sam Raimi, the man and his invented work with a camera are what made me want to get into filmmaking in the first place. He is mistaken for the saviour of Oz and must decide whether or not to stay and be king, or leave and find his way home. A magician finds himself transported to the magical land of Oz, where witches, flying monkeys and yellow brick roads exist.
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