Review: ‘Oz The Great And Powerful’

'We're off to see the Wizard...The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz'...except...

In Sam Raimi's 'Oz The Great And Powerful' he's not exactly wonderful or a wizard.

In fact, he' Oscar Diggs (James Franco) a 3rd rate circus magician/con artist, who escapes from Kansas in a hot air balloon, only to land in the beautiful, magical Land of Oz. 

There, Oscar meets the beautiful witch Theodora (Mila Kunis) and her older sister, Evanora, (Rachel Weisz) who rules over the Emerald City.

When the sisters mistake Oscar for the wizard, who the prophecies foretold, would one day come and save Oz,  he thinks he's struck gold.

Well actually he has.  Seems Oz is filled with gold...a lot of gold, enough to make Oscar a billionaire several times over.

Of course nothing is simple for our con man...It doesn't take long for the sisters to become suspicious of him.

Now, in order to to claim the riches of Oz, Oscar must figure out how to save the inhabitants from the dark forces waiting to take hold of them and their beloved city. 

Lucky for him, Oscar has the help of Glinda, aka The Good Witch (Michelle Williams) who winds up showing him just what kind of man he really is. 

'Oz The Great And Powerful' written by Mitchell Kapner,and David Lindsay-Abaire, imagines the origins of the beloved wizard character first brought to life in author L. Frank Baum's book 'The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz.

Shot in 3d, the film also introduces new characters as well, including...an adorable porcelain child called China Girl (voice by Joey King) and Finley (voice by Zach Braf ) a winged monkey who accompanies Oscar on his journey through Oz; serving as his sounding board and conscience. 

I really enjoyed 'Oz The Great And Powerful' which opens in theatres Friday March 8, 2012 and for that reason gave it 4 bagels out of 5.  I thought it was fun and a wonderful family picture.

Check out our video to for John's thoughts and his bagel score. Also love to know whom you agree with.

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