3.5 stars
Visually stunning but slow. James Franco stars as the title character, in this prequel to The Wizard of Oz; even though the original film was a dream, so maybe this prequel should have ended with a spinning top? Anyway, I loved the little china doll, the monkey was cute, and the three actresses playing the witches were gorgeous and talented (Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz). But the story plodded along, and even the youngsters in the audience were getting restless. The color palette was gorgeous, and the CGI effects were cool, especially when the witches were fighting each other. I won't say which actress becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, but I was disappointed in her transformation which was first a phony CGI shadow - couldn't they have used a real shadow?? - but then her face was simply unrecognizable, like an overly botoxed "Housewife". Why couldn't they just add on a pointy nose and chin like they did in the original with Margaret Hamilton? I honestly couldn't tell if she was wearing facial prosthetics, or if her face was a CGI effect as well? James Franco was a bit annoying too. Overall, it was a cute film, but fell short of its potential.
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