Oz The Great And Powerful

Mini Review

http://disney.go.com/thewizard/

For most people, Oz The Great And Powerful was highly anticipated. Not so much for me. On the one hand I was intrigued by the trailer but on the other hand I didn't just dislike The Wizard Of Oz, I downright hated it. But it was my turn to pick the Orange/EE Wednesday film to watch with my friend and as I thought Oz would be gone from the cinema soon I plumped for that. 

The film takes us back to before Dorothy landed in Oz, right back to when the Wizard of Oz landed in Oz. Oscar Diggs is a carnival magician and a bit of a scoundrel by all accounts. One day when the travellers are packing up to leave, his scheming ways catch up with him and he finds himself in a sticky situation. His only escape is a hot air balloon, which he promptly climbs into. Before he knows it he's headed into a tornado which whisks him off to the land of Oz. There he meets Theodora, a beautiful white witch who tells him of the plight of those who live in Oz, as the threat of the wicked witch plagues them. Ah but wait, there is a prophecy that a great wizard will come and save them all. Could he be that great man?

Mmm, probably not. He might be handy with an illusion or two but don't expect Oz to lead anyone in a great fight to the death, he's far too much of a coward for that. Which is a pity because he's the star of the show, the Great and Powerful one of the title, and yet he's a bit of a shit really. Not exactly the hero you can really get behind and root for. And I think ultimately this is Oz's undoing. Sure it looks great and has lots of pretty ladies in nice dresses, heck every now and then there's even a Wizard Of Oz reference thrown in for good measure. But what good is any of that if you have a useless, cowardly, not even that attractive, and all round not very nice, 'hero'? 

It's no good at all. James Franco is known for his sometimes odd and sometimes on the money film choices, and I can understand why he took this but it just didn't work for me. Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz all look very pretty but they don't have an awful lot to do. Thankfully, the only thing that could have made me hate this more, singing, never gets into full swing. It's the one thing I'm thankful to Oz for. Overall, a disappointing and unnecessary prequel but if you're a fan of the original there might be something here for you. 4 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 27th March 2013

UK Release Date - 8th March 2013

Cast Overview:

James Franco ~ Oscar (Oz) Diggs

Mila Kunis ~ Theodora

Rachel Weisz ~ Evanora

Michelle Williams ~ Annie/Glinda

Zach Braff ~ Frank/Finley

Bill Cobbs ~ Master Tinker

Joey King ~ Girl in wheelchair/China Girl

Tony Cox ~ Knuck

Director ~ Sam Raimi

Writer(s) ~ Mitchell Kapner (Screenplay and Screen Story), David Lindsay-Abaire (Screenplay) and L. Frank Baum ("Oz" works)

The Bourne Legacy

Mini Blog

http://www.thebournelegacy.com/

Until recently I hadn't ever seen a Bourne film. I knew of them sure, but never seen any of them. So when I heard there was a fourth film on it's way I decided it would be a good idea to catch up on what I'd missed so far. I purchased all three previous Bourne films for the bargainous price of £1 each and as some of my friends wanted to refresh their memories I scheduled 'Bourne Nights' for us to watch each of the films.

We watched all three movies in order, ending with The Bourne Ultimatum on Wednesday night prior to watching The Bourne Legacy on Friday. And now that I've seen the new film, I'm not sure watching the previous Bourne's was such a good idea.

See as a stand alone film I think The Bourne Legacy does just fine. It's got action, a nice tight plot, good actors and plenty of well choreographed fights and chases. But as a Bourne film I don't think it really works.

Other than the scenes involving high ranking CIA operatives talking about Jason Bourne, there really isn't anything to make this a Bourne film. Or make it linked in any way. So the hand to hand fights, the chases, the CIA agent who's part of the same programme as Bourne, all that stuff feels like it's been put in there to make the audience feel like they're watching a Bourne film. When in fact they're really watching a film about an CIA agent with a drug problem.

I have heard a lot of people say that the reason The Bourne Legacy doesn't work is because of the lack of Matt Damon. I disagree. I found the Bourne films to be nothing more than an excuse for Matt Damon to fight with people and get into car chases around Europe. If you asked me what the films were about (which someone did the other day), I would struggle to answer you. Not because they're not enjoyable or well made, just because I didn't find them especially memorable.

The Bourne Legacy delivers exactly what the previous films did, lots of senior CIA people trying to stop a rogue agent. Lots of fights and chases. Just a different guy in Jason Bourne's shoes. It wasn't the lack of Jason Bourne that bothered me, it was that this film, which really has nothing to do with the Bourne franchise is trying to be something it's not. The proof here is with the end credits which state that this film has been 'inspired' by the Bourne novels of Robert Ludlum. The previous Bourne films were all based on his books. This one is not. And it shows.

If you liked the Bourne movies and can gloss over the ties that are trying to bind themselves to the Bourne films, you might like this. If you're a serious Damon/Ludlum fan, avoid. There is nothing here for you. 7 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 24th August 2012

UK Release Date - 13th August 2012

Cast Overview:

Jeremy Renner ~ Aaron Cross/Kenneth James Kitsom

Rachel Weisz ~ Dr Marta Shearing

Edward Norton ~ Eric Byer

Joan Allen ~ Deputy Director Pamela Landy

David Strathairn ~ Noah Vosen

Albert Finney ~ Dr Albert Hirsch

Director ~ Tony Gilroy

Writer(s) ~ Tony Gilroy (Screenplay and Story), Dan Gilroy (Screenplay) and Robert Ludlum (Bourne Series)