Revisiting a film as legendary as The Wizard Of Oz was never going to be an easy task, but Sam Raimi’s prequel Oz The Great And Powerful is an entertaining take on the fantasy tale.
Before Dorothy and her red shoes had even thought of tottering down the yellow brick road, Kansas born circus conman Oscar (James Franco) is transported to the Kingdom of Oz via a hot air balloon caught up in a freak tornado, and arrives amidst a power struggle between three witches: Theodora (Mila Kunis) Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams).

The CGI and 3D of Oz The Great and Powerful are spectacular, with Disney’s $200 million production costs well spent, making it as impressive to today’s cinema goer as The Wizard Of Oz’s use of Technicolour would have been to audiences back in 1939.
James Franco’s Oz and Zach Braff’s Finley the Flying Monkey are the character highlights of this movie, with Franco re-affirming himself as one of Hollywood’s great talents and Zach Braff assuring the audience of his comedic prowess.
Michelle Williams’ Glinda is perfect princess, striking a convincing balance between wise and vacuous; however Rachel Weisz and Mila Kunis are rather miscast as sisters and underplay the potential campness of their roles, thereby missing out on adding legendary caricature status to their parts.
The film is 20 minutes too long for the target family audience, but nonetheless is an aesthetic treat and will not disappoint a punter on the search for a few hours of colour-drenched escapism.

'MTV.co.uk verdict:'

Venetia Falconer @mtvuknews