I absolutely love the storyline. I had read about 17 books of the Oz series when I was little but I can hardly remember them in much detail so I dont know if this story is faithful to the original but it doesnt matter because it ties in tremedously well with the beloved classic. The visuals were fantastic, and so was its potential...but the execution for the most part was bland
I really wanted this to rock and what makes it worse for me is that it had that potential. There were some moments of cuteness, a few giggles, a little charm but timing was very off and dialogue was so stilted. I like James Franco and he was likeable enough here but ultimately, he wasnt the right person for this role. I thought he had some star quality in Raimi's Spiderman films but here, he's just too damn pretty for the role. Its unfair to say that though, given the powerhouse performances of classic pretty male actors such as Paul Newman, James Dean, Robert Redford and Heath Ledger but Franco isnt in that class. Perhaps like Leonardo, he might strike a greater presence as he gets older. The witches were the main problem. They were so wooden and desperately needed the Tin Woodman's oilcan. Now, these are all good actresses and actors. It is the director who is responsible to getting good perfromances from them but for some reason Raimi was not focussed on that. Felt like he just let them read their lines in one take and moved on to the next scene. Having said that, the main witch was not cast well either. Needed someone who could convey more venomous emotions.
I have to say, if I wasnt aware that this was a Sam Raimi film, I would have sworn it was Tim Burton at the helm...both directors actually have similar visions and styles when I come to think of it...I guess its no coincidence that they both love to use composer, Danny Elfman, for all of their movies.
Oh well, I still actually enjoyed what it had to deliver and would give it a 6/10 but man, with better direction and less mechanical performances, this could have rocked way up to a 9/10. Damn, what a shame.
Member No. 4 of the "100 free films in 2023" club. 12 seen 88 to go 
Member No. 4 of the "100 free films in 2022" club. 80 seen