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OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFULMovie Reviews
Fantasy adventure about a small-time magician who is hurled into the fantastical Land of Oz, where he transforms himself into the great wizard. Cast:Mila Kunis, James Franco, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Abigail Spencer, Bruce Campbell, Zach Braff, Joey King, Tim Holmes, Bill Cobbs, Martin Klebba, Tony Cox, Francisca Viudes, Jon Overgaauw, Otis WinstonDirector:Sam RaimiRelease Date:March 8, 2013DVD Release:June 11, 2013From:Walt Disney PicturesRating:PGLength:2 hr 7 minIn 3D
Oz: The Great and Powerful opened to mixed reviews. • Claudia Puig wrote in USA Today, "...powerfully entertaining.... the rare case where 3-D doesn't feel superfluous, but integral to the plot.... a grand adventure notable for its enchanting visual artistry." • And Dana Stevens wrote for Slate, "...visually over-crammed, emotionally empty..." More Reviews Below...
Oz: The Great and Powerful Positive Reviews (52 Reviews, reviews below)
Alynda Wheat, People: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Mostly fine performances and brilliant sets notwithstanding, there's no escaping the fact that, for all 'Oz's' considerable tricks, there's no real magic."(See all of Alynda Wheat's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 236 words, 03/07/13
Richard Corliss, Time: FAIR "Sam Raimi can't infuse the story with much verve or joy.... The 3-D effects are plentiful, but the characters rarely lodge in the moviegoer's heart."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,131 words, 03/06/13
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: MODERATE(cg) "...can be very pretty but also overlong and repetitive, with a plot that's more plodding that dazzling.... something is missing in the magic."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 700 words, 03/14/13
Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It's got brains. Heart. And yes, even courage. What this 'Wizard of Oz' prequel needs is more imagination.... yields no big surprises."(See all of Mara Reinstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 201 words, 03/07/13
Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the female leads remain fairly one-note. As does Franco... while Raimi's Oz is like retinal crack, he never seduces our hearts and minds..."(See all of Chris Nashawaty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 521 words, 03/08/13
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: MODERATE(cg) "...bloats into a candy-colored widescreen extravaganza that leaves character at the mercy of fancy FX.... keeps throwing things at us, relentlessly..."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 469 words, 03/15/13
Claudia Puig, USA Today: VERY GOOD(cg) "...powerfully entertaining.... the rare case where 3-D doesn't feel superfluous, but integral to the plot.... a grand adventure notable for its enchanting visual artistry."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 562 words, 03/08/13
Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "There's maybe three-fifths of an inspired and sometimes nearly great movie... Once all the players are in proper position for a showdown, the film really picks up..."(See all of Glenn Kenny's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 734 words, 03/06/13
Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...even with three fabulous actresses as the witches and two adorable sidekicks (the monkey, the China Girl), Franco's Oz himself lacks the emotional impact... Age 10."(See all of Sandie Angulo Chen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 680 words, 03/06/13
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (14 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: POOR "...a dispiriting, infuriating jumble of big money, small ideas and ugly visuals... there is a little romance, some adventure, too much jokey patter..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 675 words, 03/08/13
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: POOR(cg) "There are innumerable disappointments in Raimi's return to a land we all love. But the most outrageous is the brazen claim that it's based on Baum's open-hearted books."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 640 words, 03/08/13
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Sometimes sweet, sometimes scary, sometimes sour... solid but not spectacular effort stubbornly refuses to catch fire until it's almost too late."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 878 words, 03/08/13
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: POOR(cg) "...dull, kitschy and overlong... impersonally directed.... The interior of the Emerald City bears an unfortunate resemblance to a Las Vegas casino hotel..."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 714 words, 03/08/13
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The movie's weaknesses and strengths are captured by James Franco, who is capable of many things. Rhetorical flourish and theatrical brio aren't two of them."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 728 words, 03/08/13
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Williams transforms the bubbly Glinda into a smart, sexy, sophisticated figure. 'If you can make them believe,' she tells the magician, 'then you're wizard enough.' "(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 305 words, 03/08/13
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: WEAK "...peculiarly joyless... Franco is unconvincing.... He doesn't have the comebacks. He's playing a noncommittal character in a noncommittal way..."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 812 words, 03/08/13
Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Franco's a lot more believable playing slimy than sincere, and the part requires him to do both. It's a steady but less-than-captivating performance."(See all of Richard Roeper's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 834 words, 03/08/13
Scott Foundas, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "Franco may be the least convincing flimflam man in movie history, more young Norman Bates than the man who would be Oz.... a flaccid 3-D affair."(See all of Scott Foundas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 215 words, 03/06/13
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It is both strength and weakness that it is a true prequel, one that isn't inclined to monkey too much with Oz mythology or the 1939 movie that everybody has seen."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 922 words, 03/08/13
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: POOR(cg) "...it soon becomes clear this isn't working.... unfortunately, it has the model of the 1939 film to remind us how lacking in delight this version is."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 793 words, 03/08/13
Josep Parera, La Opinion: VERY GOOD(cg) "Las ideas visuales que afloran segundo tras segundo son, en una palabra, fascinantes. Hay magia en la película. Solo que el truco tarda demasiado en revelarse."(See all of Josep Parera's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 576 words, 03/08/13
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...an empty spectacle in which actors race through green-screen landscapes and battle CG beasties that never seem quite as real as they should."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 184 words, 03/07/13
KEY CITIES (13 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: POOR(cg) "...designed merely to up an already bloated special-effects ante, from the now-30-percent-more-terrifying flying monkeys to a prolonged, explosive climactic sequence."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 805 words, 03/08/13
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: MODERATE(cg) "...the problems go way beyond Franco.... Trippy beyond trippiness, with a design aesthetic that makes high-end Vegas revues look like they were staged by Shakers..."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 742 words, 03/08/13
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a lollapalooza of funhouse thrills and visually sumptuous filmmaking.... there's plenty in this enormous production to charm the adults and wow the junior members."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 556 words, 03/08/13
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "This trip isn't so notable. It's not bad. Some bits are enjoyable. But ultimately, other than some genuinely impressive visuals, it never makes a compelling enough case..."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 667 words, 03/08/13
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "...toggles between inspiration and calculation, never finding its groove.... more interested in building a new machine than in taking us over the rainbow..."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,034 words, 03/08/13
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "...you'll find the 3-D almost as good as Ang Lee's 'Life of Pi,' with the three dimensions in service of a much better story.... It's enough to make you start liking 3-D again..."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 729 words, 03/08/13
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...isn't a masterpiece for the ages, but an agreeable family film that pleasantly reminds us of something greater -- of a land that we heard of, once in a lullaby."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 513 words, 03/08/13
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: MODERATE(cg) "Raimi proves he understands spectacle but not the deeper dreams of the people who consume it. It's a long road to get fed such sour apples."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 477 words, 03/08/13
Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times: GOOD(cg) "It took brains to create such a sumptuous fantasia with pixels and keyboard swipes. Now, if it only had a heart.... There are wondrous things in 'Oz'..."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 534 words, 03/07/13
Tom Long, Detroit News: VERY GOOD(cg) "...will likely dazzle family audiences while satisfying movie purists. Somewhere over the rainbow there may be a more magical movie, but this will certainly do."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 638 words, 03/08/13
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: POOR(cg) "...an oppressive, bloated bore... lumbers along, spending way too much time admiring its own creations... your eyes start to hurt and the film starts to feel endless."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 724 words, 03/08/13
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (10 Reviews)
Scott Foundas, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "Franco may be the least convincing flimflam man in movie history, more young Norman Bates than the man who would be Oz.... a flaccid 3-D affair."(See all of Scott Foundas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 215 words, 03/06/13
Eric Eisenberg, Cinema Blend: EXCELLENT(cg) "...undeniably a Raimi film.... cleverly balances its own story while also embracing the elements that made the original great to begin with."(See all of Eric Eisenberg's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 611 words, 03/07/13
Jordan Riefe, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Raimi nearly overcomes the unenviable burden of revisiting a classic by delivering dazzling footage, but not so the performances.... competent and entertaining."(See all of Jordan Riefe's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 147 words, 03/07/13
Scott Tobias, AV Club: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Raimi does what he can to squeeze in some clever references or Looney Tunes-style comic whizbangery, but the film gets away from him."(See all of Scott Tobias's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 468 words, 03/07/13
Cynthia Fuchs, Pop Matters: POOR(cg) "...that Wicked Witchy transformation is weak, first engineered by shadows and then, once you see her full-on and green, just odd, like she's a cartoon character..."(See all of Cynthia Fuchs's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,032 words, 03/09/13
Calum Marsh, Slant: POOR(cg) "...tiresome and wholly indistinct.... bloated with all the bland effects money can buy, but containing not one ounce of real thought and consideration..."(See all of Calum Marsh's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 977 words, 03/05/13
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...an empty spectacle in which actors race through green-screen landscapes and battle CG beasties that never seem quite as real as they should."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 184 words, 03/07/13
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: WEAK(cg) "Amid the visual spectacle this movie reveals that it has a heart, but its head contains not enough brain and too much straw."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 688 words, 03/08/13
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: MODERATE(cg) "...curiously blah... suffers from a bad case of fan-fiction-itis, or the itch to tell the audience things we never realized until right now that we never really needed to know."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 851 words, 03/07/13
HIGHBROW PRESS (7 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: WEAK "...a pedestrian story that follows a potholed path through the enchantment-free zones of a 3-D theme park.... bright and shiny, with no heart."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,129 words, 03/08/13
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: POOR "...a dispiriting, infuriating jumble of big money, small ideas and ugly visuals... there is a little romance, some adventure, too much jokey patter..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 675 words, 03/08/13
David Denby, New Yorker: FAIR "Franco's reflexive self-deprecation comes off as a gutless kind of cool, and it sinks this odd, fretful, uncertain movie like a boulder."(See all of David Denby's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 543 words, 03/11/13
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Sometimes sweet, sometimes scary, sometimes sour... solid but not spectacular effort stubbornly refuses to catch fire until it's almost too late."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 878 words, 03/08/13
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: FAIR "I was charmed at some moments, profoundly bored by others and almost never felt genuinely excited or emotionally engaged. A lumbering, bloated spectacle..."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,261 words, 03/07/13
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...gets some mileage out of its game performances, luscious production design and the unfettered enthusiasm director Sam Raimi brings to a thin, simplistic origin story."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,136 words, 02/28/13
Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: WEAK "...sadly unimaginative... feels stillborn from its opening minutes and never springs to life, even with the arrival of the witches and the flying monkeys.... oddly stilted..."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,234 words, 02/28/13
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Sometimes sweet, sometimes scary, sometimes sour... solid but not spectacular effort stubbornly refuses to catch fire until it's almost too late."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 878 words, 03/08/13
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: VERY GOOD(cg) "...vivid, colorful, and quite enjoyable.... Overall the movie belongs to the three women, or rather witches, played by Rachel Weitz, Michelle Williams and Mila Kunis."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 550 words, 03/02/13
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: POOR "...a dispiriting, infuriating jumble of big money, small ideas and ugly visuals... there is a little romance, some adventure, too much jokey patter..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 675 words, 03/08/13
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: WEAK "...a pedestrian story that follows a potholed path through the enchantment-free zones of a 3-D theme park.... bright and shiny, with no heart."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,129 words, 03/08/13
21.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Oz: The Great and Powerful's reviews are separated by an average 21.8 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Oz: The Great and Powerful (52 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Oz: The Great and Powerful's reviews cover 98.2% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 35,309 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 679 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Oz: The Great and Powerful Coverage, Volume & Length (52 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 3.1 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Oz: The Great and Powerful's reviews on average broke 3.1 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Oz: The Great and Powerful's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Oz: The Great and Powerful (52 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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