Which witch is the wicked witch?

The Wizard of Oz may be a great and powerful man but Sam Raimi’s modern origins story possesses neither of those two qualities. Instead of going for something grand and epic, Raimi opts for the easy way out, pouring all of his expensive budget into the scenic visual treat. There is very little focus on building any kind of coherent story, and much like Tim Burton’s highly disappointing Alice in Wonderland back in 2010, the film’s heart is in all the wrong places – which comes as yet another letdown.

In the traditional Wizard of Oz style, the film starts off in black-and-white mode, as we are introduced to Oscar/Oz (Franco), a womanising, self-centred circus magician/con-artist who dreams of not just goodness, but greatness. After a string of events that land him in a hot air balloon in the midst of a terrifying tornado, Oscar narrowly escapes death and ends up in the colourful land of Oz.

Here is where the film churns out an endless stream of magnificent looking unique features of Oz’s nature – the trees, the flowers, the leaves, all the bright, vibrant colours come to life more so with the extra dimension, and this head-spinning sequence goes on for far too long in fact, completely going over the top, spending more thanthe necessary amount of time concentrating on its pretty visuals rather than pushing on with the story.

Meeting him first is Theodora (Kunis) the good witch, who then introduces him to her sister Evanora (Weisz), who clearly isn’t a very good witch. There is a prophecy in Oz that a great wizard bearing the same name as their world will descend from the skies, will defeat the Wicked Witch and will restore peace. That man appears to be Oscar himself, who instantly grabs the opportunity to become rich and powerful.

Theodora truly falls for him, even delving into a fantasy world of her own where she will become Oscar’s wife and the two of them will rule over Oz as a happy couple. The sinister Evanora isn’t convinced, and the political power struggle between the witches is further complicated by Glinda (Williams) who is so clearly the purest one of them all, what with her white dress and blonde hair. Lies and deceit tear these individuals apart, and eventually there comes a time where Oscar needs to step up, and lead an army to overthrow the dark powers that control Oz.

Only that it takes absolutely ages for Oscar to come to his senses. There is a lot of repetition when it comes to portraying him as a money/power/woman-hungry human who only cares about the royal treasures of Oz. Okay we get that he needs to change and as this is a Disney film we also know that he will play the hero in the end but the film’s narrative is bogged down by one too many references to the fact that he’s capable of more than he knows.

But when it comes to the finale and linking everything together with what we’ve seen in The Wizard of Oz, the film does manage to establish some clever links and use Oscar’s baseline skills to its advantage in creating a big showdown. His skills as a con-artist he used so well on Earth are put to good use here, as are his sneaky wits. Franco does his best with the very limited sides to his lead character, one shallow, the other reformed and committed, but he brings enough cheeky humour into the role to provide some intermittent laughs.

As his sidekicks, the two computer animated characters are absolutely spot-on in design. The China Girl (Joey King) and Finley (Zach Braff) the flying monkey, though they don’t exactly do much to contribute for most of the film’s plot, show what amazing things tons of money and special effects can do.

Infuriatingly side-lined however, are the three witches. Their relationships are barely explored, and the dubious intentions that often don’t make a lot of sense are forced in to spice up the dynamic between the three of them. Weisz, the obvious villain here, is disappointingly given a character too similar to that of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in that she’s obsessed with looks, and she cunningly uses a poisoned apple to get her way. Weisz has a lot of fun with her duplicitous trouble-making witch, although she doesn’t get nearly enough screen time to shine. Kunis gets the juiciest part here as the film’s worst kept secret, and most obvious twist turn out to be true, hint hint. Williams is as lovely as ever but a touch bland, and frustratingly without much power. There is a witch duel between Glinda and Evanora, one that ends far too quickly without ever feeling as epic as the trailers make it out to be.

All in all it’s a hugely missed opportunity, that cannot even make up for its thin plot with all the love for its visual department. The heart simply is not there, and neither is the excitement. Everything may look amazing, (the big, grand palaces, the costumes etc) but what’s behind them is surprisingly empty and hollow.