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davidahallnum5
Aug 18, 20228 min read

Oz the Great and Powerful 3D Blu-ray Review

Updated: Apr 8, 2023

Oz the Great and Powerful is a 2013 fantasy family adventure movie, directed by Sam Raimi, that is a prequel to the Wizard of Oz. This film is about a stage magician named Oz who's life turns upside down when he gets into a hot air balloon, but then soon gets sucked up in a tornado and comes out in the strange land of Oz, first movie style. Upon arriving, Oz discovers encounters a witch who tells him he is the powerful wizard that an age-old prophecy spoke about who would defeat the wicked witch and bring peace to the land of Oz. There is a problem though, he isn't actually a powerful wizard. But with all the fame and respect he gains from the residents immediately upon arriving, and the treasure he's promised he will inherit after he defeats the witch, he might as well keep that to himself. However, if he doesn't find a way to use his own non-magical talents to defeat the witch, he'll find himself being neither man nor wizard, but toast.

There are a good number of twists and turns to the story. But I won't give them away here. So how is the movie itself, you might be wondering. Well, it's not one that I can see pleasing everyone. In fact on Rotten Tomatoes, you can see it only barely pleased half of its audience. And to some degree, I can see why. But personally, I found that if I just accept the film for what it is, the films great elements seemed to outweigh the mediocre ones.

Now, after the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz came out, there have been many attempts to continue or add to the already existing story. Some have been good and others have been awful. But this one, I think many people find it be middle of the road of this type of genre. The story itself does best when it creates its own unique style or when it includes lots of tie-ins to the original film. But in the in-between moments, its execution of its story feels a bit by the numbers. This begins to die down somewhat in the films latter half. But in the first, the set up for the story can feel somewhat clumsy. Now for the first ten minutes or so when the movie takes place in Kansas, it's actually pretty interesting. But after he comes into Oz and meets the witch for the first time, the interactions that are supposed to set up the story feel predictable and a bit clunky. This type of tone also seems to carry when at one point, they introduce a flying monkey who's characteristic is that he dedicates himself to the wizard after he saves him from a lion. He's also supposed to be one of the films comic reliefs. While he isn't unbearable, he can be a tiny bit annoying. This clumsiness seems to carry on whenever the film has to set up exposition. It makes the film feel, not necessarily boring, but a bit more awkward than I'd prefer. And that's why I feel, for the most part, that's why the overall reaction to this movie was mixed.

But the film isn't all bad. In fact, it does actually have some interesting twists and scenes that are actually well pulled off. Once example of this is a scene where Oz discovers a broken China girl and he helps to glue her leg back on. It's a well-paced emotional scene that acts as one of films higher points. While the entirety of the film isn't like this, the parts that are well executed are pretty engaging. As I mentioned earlier, the film's style is it's strongest element. And it that respect, nothing is here is half-baked. The beginning of the movie starts out just like The Wizard of Oz, in black and white, and even a smaller aspect ratio. But once you get transported into the land of Oz, the film goes into color and widescreen. You might call that a bit unoriginal. But it still works very well. And in Oz, the setting is bright, colorful, and creative. Just like the 1939 film, the world of Oz is very surreal. But with modern technology, that element gets enhanced even further. And in 3D, it's truly a sight to see. The performances, while aren't perfect, are still fun to see (except for Milas Kunis, who looks more like The Mask than the wicked witch. In fact, I half-expected her to yell "Smokinnn" after her evil transformation) While I don't want to give away most of the plot, I will say this: the elements that were introduced in the first movie come back in this film to make for some inventive and fun action sequences, and a pretty rousing climax.

This is probably one of the harder films I've had to review as of late because while there is some mediocre stuff that can be a bit off putting, the good stuff is also genuinely great. It can be a bit difficult to analyze which of the two elements shines through the most. But personally, I enjoyed the film a bit more than I originally anticipated. And I get the feeling that if you're willing to put up with a bit of clumsy dialogue every now and then, you'll find plenty to like about Sam Raimi's eye-popping and imaginative take on the backstory of the Wizard of Oz. There's more than enough style to appreciate and it's not entirely devoid of substance either. I believe the term for this movie is that it "puts it where it really counts." Whether that's enough to satisfy you, that's for you to decide. But for me, I'd say if you keep an open mind, this might not be an entirely unpleasant trip back to Oz.


OVERALL FILM RATING: 3.5/5



Like I said, style is this movie's strongest point. And if it wasn't all that good, I'd say don't even bother with this movie. Luckily, not only is it fantastic, it also lends to some pretty stellar 3D. Throughout the film, the third dimension is utilized lots of interesting ways and contains all the immense depth to properly support it.

At the beginning of the film, the film starts out with the same aspect ratio as the original film and in black and white. In spite of some stuff breaking the aspect ratio such as fire and a flying hat in the first 10 minutes, the 3D is pretty weak for the most part. But like Ready Player One 3D, it's supposed to be that way. But it really begins to pick up when Oz gets sucked up into the tornado and the image becomes deep, showing off the space in the tornado, with debris and other related objects flying across and out of the screen. It's still black and white, but the scene is certainly a 3D highlight.

Once you get into the land of Oz and the screen becomes wide and colorful, the 3D depth doesn't let up. In fact, it only gets stronger. The mountains go far back into the screen, we watch as we go down a waterfall, and when Oz washes up on shore, there are many shiny bugs flying around that are in their own 3D space, something you probably wouldn't see in 2D. The surrounding jungle also has proper 3D depth. And with the strange creatures in Oz moving around and even popping out of the screen, the extra dimension makes the overall effect that much more memorable. It maintains this look virtually throughout the entire movie. Of course, when the story needs to get some exposition out of the way, such as when Oz first meets the witch, the depth slows down and isn't as impressive. But it picks back up again when the story becomes all about spectacle.

All of the ginormous buildings and details of the Emerald City are truly a wonder to behold in 3D. The center square, and especially how it plays into the climax, is especially big. The insides of the buildings look interesting and deep. And even when we have to leave the city, the many places we visit certainly remain impressive with size, structure, and overall surreal quality when the third dimension is added. The mountains that are far away still look very far away. The poppy field, the graveyard, and the jungle all look as deep and vast as appropriate. And all of the strange details that Oz has to offer with crystal flowers, creatures, and other related objects all shine in 3D.

But depth isn't just all this movie is about. Oz also knows how pop stuff out at you. I mentioned some of the more famous moments featuring pop outs before, such as in the tornado sequence. But that's only really scratching the surface of all that goes on. Throughout the film, we get everything from smoke to attacking flying monkeys to fireworks to gold to flying bubbles to fire to wands to electricity and magic coming from the wands to even people and people's body parts. And that's all just what I could get off the top of my head. I know plenty of filmmakers choose not to go down this route as it's often dismissed as just gimmicky. But it's still a very fun gimmick that if done right, brings you into the experience rather than takes you out of it. And I'm glad Sam Raimi decided to fully go for it.

Oz the Great and Powerful is one of the most mesmerizing 3D films I've seen in a while. There are 3D films that are given the treatment because the filmmakers believe there are things in the film that are worth enhancing with extra depth. But then there are 3D movies that were designed for 3D from the start and are utilized in the best way possible to make 3D experience not just the best way to go about the movie, but the only way. The Polar Express, Hugo, and Journey to the Center of the Earth went down this route. And Oz the Great and Powerful joins them. With the gorgeous setting, the countless pop outs, and staggering depth, this films receives the rare rating of 3D Dinosaur Certified Excellent. It thoroughly deserves it.


3D RATING: EXCELLENT


For more sources that review this movie's 3D (these reviews may not completely match up with mine. But if you want a second opinion on the film's 3D, these are some sources I recommend checking out):






FINAL THOUGHTS:


Right now, you're probably on the ball on whether or not to watch this movie. To that, I say the choice is up to you. If you don't mind a bit of by-the-numbers execution to get to the great stuff, maybe you'll like this movie. I personally enjoyed it (maybe because the first time I watched it was in 3D). But if you have a 3D display, than it's no question. You must pick up and watch this movie. The 3D in Oz the Great and Powerful is absolutely stunning. The style and direction Sam Raimi goes for with this film not only suits the film well in the extra dimension, but he goes the extra mile to make sure 3D is the only way to watch the film. With all of the pop outs, the deep landscapes, and all of the surreal camera shots/angles this movie takes to make the 3D shine, seeing this film without the 3D is like watching The Wizard of Oz on a black and white TV screen. You won't be seeing the beautiful film the filmmakers intended you to see. If you're going about this film at all, buy the 3D version. Even if you only occasionally go out and buy 3D films, I still highly recommend going out for this one. It's without a doubt, one of the best 3D presentations out there.





DID YOU LIKE "OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL" IN 3D

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