The Bat Cave

Starring: James Franco, Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz
Director: Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Evil Dead, Spider-Man 3)

Quick Thoughts: There is way too much green screen going on in Sam Raimi’s Oz The Great And Powerful and the result is the film looks more like Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland than James Cameron’s Avatar and that’s not a good thing. You certainly don’t feel immersed in the land of Oz; it all looks quite fake. The acting does little to add to the believability, as four Oscar and Golden Globe nominees all do a great job of not taking their roles too seriously… and maybe they shouldn’t. But still, I don’t want to see Michelle Williams or Mila Kunis hamming it up. Having seen the Broadway version of Wicked last year, I know there is a way to continue The Wizard Of Oz story in a way that can still be embraced in 2013. I’ll take Elphaba’s origin story over this mess any day.

Replay Value: I’ll probably never watch it again… but it might have a little value here.
Sequel Potential: As a prequel to The Wizard Of Oz, obviously this property has plenty of legs.
Oscar Potential: There’s a chance for some art direction and make-up love, but I have a feeling this movie will be long forgotten come Oscar season.
Nudity: None.
Grade: 4.5/10 (watchable/wait for Red Box)
RottenTomatoes Scores: Critics: 61% Audience: 66%
IMDB Rating: 6.9/10

Recommendation: A pretty cheesy offering. I didn’t see the 3D version so maybe the film looks spectacular that way; I doubt it though. I was excited for this movie but I lost interest before we even made it to Oz. All in all, a moderately painful experience.