Movie Review: "Oz the Great and Powerful"

Synopsis: Oscar, also known as the great and powerful Oz, is a magician with a traveling circus whose act hasn't been doing very well lately.  When he lands himself in trouble with the circus' strongman, he hops into a hot air balloon to make an escape...only for a storm to take him to the land of Oz, where it was prophesied that a great wizard who bears the name of the land will save them from utter disaster.  There, the magician meets three witches, two of which turn out to be evil, and want to rule the land of Oz with an iron fist.  However, Glinda, the good witch, wants Oz saved, and she believes Oscar can do it.  However, the so-called "wizard" is merely a master of illusion, not a sorcerer.  Will he be able to rescue his namesake land from the clutches of the two evil witches?

The Good: I love a good, clean-cut, fantasy/action story, and this is definitely one.  The special effects were amazing; the characters either easily likable or utterly despicable; the action sequences were on point; all in all, a fun adventure that brings L. Frank Baum's fictional land into modern cinema.

The Bad: While minor, some content concerns did exist, namely the low-cut wardrobes of the witches, including Glinda.  There's also magic present, but, anything that deals with the land of Oz would have that, right? Occasional name-calling and misuses of God's name pops up, and there are a few scary moments.  However, this film does not betray its "PG" rating.

Conclusion: I've mentioned more than once that I've always been more partial to Disney's live-action productions; while the House of Mouse has done some animated marvels, especially with Pixar, I've always preferred the non-cartoon ones.  So, something like this is right up my alley...and that made me enjoy it all the more.  Maybe this isn't Disney as you've come to expect it, but this is how I like my Mickey Mouse productions.

Score: 4.5/5