Sam
Raimi, who has had an illustrious career to date with 20 movies to
his name ranging from one of the most classic tongue in cheek horror
series to chick flicks and sentimental fare most recently resurrecting the comic icon
wall crawler brings us the rare instance where a prequel is worthy of its
original. Victor Fleming would have applauded Raimi's effort in
telling the tale of Oz's fabled entrance into L. Frank Baum's innovative realm
of wonder and woe. I am not a huge fan in any way shape or form of
Franco, but he provides a satisfactory performance, mostly mechanical but occasionally
finding a symbiosis with his character. However, there is a plethora
of actors with far more talent that could have added the appropriate dimensions
and whimsy to the role. Kunis, Weisz, and Williams, on the other hand,
knock it out of the park as the three witches. Their performances are as dazzling
as the incredible CGI effects that Raimi utilized to bring the wonderful world
of Oz to brilliant and beautiful life. His vision is stunning, to say the least,
like Avatar meets Willy Wonka in vibrant color, sweep, and spectrum. For
the kiddies, don't look for any musical numbers that made the original so endearing and it is a bit scarier than the 1939 cinematic legend, but
don't allow those factors prevent you from taking the rug-rats on this magical
journey. Look for some unique Easter eggs, foreshadowing, and an appearance by Raimi alumni Bruce Campbell. 3
out of 5 Kernels: A movie with brains, heart, and nerve minus any fancy
footwear.
No comments:
Post a Comment