Oz the Great & Powerful - review

Oscar Diggs is a circus magician whose many tricks involve fooling his audience, but when he is confronted by an angry fellow performer, Oscar manages to escape his clutches by flying away in a hot air balloon and in his haste to get away, he flies straight into the middle of a hurricane.

As the balloon is pulled in all directions, Oscar prays for his life and promises to be good if his life is spared and soon enough the balloon settles down in a lake leaving him unharmed. With a sigh of relief Oscar is grateful to escape the storm, but with a quick look around allowing him to see the bright landscape scattered with blooming flowers & lush green grass, he soon realises he is no longer in Kansas.

Informed by Theodora, a beautiful witch who saw him fall through the sky that he is in the Land of Oz and is the wizard they have all been waiting for, Oscar is swept away with the magic of the land and instead of telling her he’s not a wizard, he allows her to lead him to the Emerald City when she tells him that he will be their king. 

With the promise of riches and power, Oscar can’t believe his luck, however when he arrives and meets Evanora, another witch of Oz, he is told that to become king and claim all the gold the land has to offer, he must first defeat Glinda – the wicked witch – by destroying her wand.

Sent on his mission and with a flying monkey for accompaniment, Oscar sets off to find Glinda and on his way meets a little china girl whose town has been destroyed by the evil witches’ minions. Inviting her along on his journey, Oscar makes his way to the dark forest and after fleeing from the horrors that haunt the forest with the help of Glinda, she informs him that Evanora is in fact the evil witch and wants to claim the land for herself.

As Glinda shows the wizard to the safe part of Oz where the munchkins, Quadlings & Tinkers live in fear of the evil witch, he agrees to help them come up with a plan to overrule her. But with Theodora under the spell of Evanora causing her to also become evil, they have no time to waste as the threat of war becomes greater forcing Oscar to put his skills to the test and prove that he is worthy of becoming the great and powerful Wizard of Oz.

Starring James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz & Michelle Williams, Oz the Great and Powerful is a spectacular journey through a fantasy land drowned in bright colours and fantastic views.

Although a bit scary in places for younger viewers, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie & would definitely watch it again.