Scott Hardie: “It was ok.”
I liked the part of the movie that they put the most care into, the whiz-bang CGI special effects, which made Oz a scary and wonderful place again. But some plot elements rubbed me the wrong way (spoilers below), and James Franco just isn't a leading man. It was nice to see so many major roles for women and girls, to the point where the male lead felt incidental to his own movie, but basing their behavior on such ugly stereotypes about women undid the progress. For a kids movie, you could do a lot worse.
− March 10, 2013 • more by Scott • log in or register to reply
Scott Hardie: Several details really bugged me:
1) It's great that the movie gives the Wicked Witch of the West a back story, explaining her as turning evil because of Oz's betrayal and womanizing. And Oz deserved that kind of consequence for his lecherous behavior. But the specific act of betrayal that she thought he did, he didn't do, and so her basis for hating him is completely phony, and she never gives him a chance to explain himself. Boo! That such an important element of the movie rings totally false is a major problem.
2) Why is it in Hollywood that ugly must mean old? When Evanora's beauty spell is broken, her true form is revealed to be an ugly old hag, presumably made that way by the side effects of dark magic. I'm always disappointed when a movie reveals a beautiful young woman's "horrible" true form and it's basically just an unkempt older woman. Gasp! The horror! She's old! A far better movie than this, The Shining, falls into the same trap. I think that this plot twist keeps coming out of Hollywood says less about our shared cultural values and more about the vanity of that particular town.
3) My memory of The Wizard of Oz is hazy at best, but I recall Glinda being a sort of pure, unimpeachable, Virgin Mary type. And other than some low cleavage in her costume, she's basically the same here, played by Michelle Williams as motherly and beatific. And yet Oz, who supposedly learned the error of his womanizing ways (because that supposedly drove the plot, right?), manages to seduce Glinda at the end of the movie. WTF? So he's basically an unrepentant lech who will seduce anything that moves (look out China Girl!), and none of his personal progress mattered? Ugh.
I would have made this the Movie of the Month if I had thought it would have so many points worth discussing. I'm only scratching the surface.This reply contains spoilers. Reveal it. − March 10, 2013 • more by Scott
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Erik Bates: “It was ok.”
Beautiful scenery and effects. I have completely forgotten the plot.
− December 9, 2013 • more by Erik • log in or register to reply
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Samir Mehta: “It was ok.”
I wanted to LOVE this movie. The opening sequence was masterful - Raimi shows that certain directors (a SHORT list of Ang Lee, Peter Jackson, and Raimi) can make 3D worth doing. But the storytelling somehow lets it all down. It's not a BAD movie, but ultimately the shadow of the Wizard of Oz can't be overcome. I saw this a few weeks before seeing Wicked the first time (which is a masterpiece) and it really hammered why this was mediocre - it doesn't expand the story as much as it should have. And, to Scott's points, yes there is a frustrating aspect to the depiction of the female leads - with so many female characters, it somehow still feels stifling in its depiction of women.
− December 9, 2013 • more by Samir • log in or register to reply
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