I am a traditionalist and think certain movies should not be touched - but if they do, they must exceed beyond expectations. Unfortunately, Oz missed the mark. The movie relies too heavily on dry slapstick comedy and James Franco delivers a dry, forced almost unbearable performance. I kept hoping there would be a turning point in the movie where it got better, but that never arrived. Visually, it was beautiful and i give high praise to remaining true to the original movie with the first 15 minutes in black and white before the color of Oz. The character of Finley wears on you like JaJa Binks did in the Star Wars prequels. If you grew up loving the Wizard of Oz, i believe you will be disappointed.

I've waited a couple of years for this movie to come out. I wanted to be the 1st person to see this movie. I took PTO on my job just to see this movie. I've seen an early screening of "Oz the Great & Powerful" at 8pm on March 7th, and I must tell you this is absolutely the very best fantasy movie I've ever seen! I won't throw you any spoilers. It was so incredible how they used lots of elements from the 1939 "Wizard Of Oz" movie to tie into this prequel. It all fits and makes since like a puzzle. Their was a lot of humor, special effects and action to keep your eyes opened and interested from the very start to the very end of this movie! There is even a joke within the middle of the movie for it not being a musical like the 1st movie. All actors done a terrific job especially James Franco. Didn't know Franco could be such a humorous actor! This movie is too great to watch as a DVD rental. You absolutely must see this movie in a theater in 3D as soon as possible or you may regret it!

Go! Charming flick for the youngsters, But if you're over 50.... the feeling can't be replicated about how we felt the first time, or the second time..... or fifteenth time, we saw "The Wizard of Oz" on Thanksgiving night, on the home TV. I felt the same emptiness, when I saw "Wicked", so it's nobodies fault. Must be a generational 'thing'.

The magic of "The Wizard of Oz" is nowhere to be seen in this movie. Not even a little Disney magic is traceable. There is no childlike innocence or quality to this movie, that we all know and love about not only the MGM classic, but the stories in general. The adult humor about "the sock was on the door" in the beginning was disappointing. Can't we have film for children to see without sexual references? In 1939 they made a classic that FAMILIES and people of every age still watch 75 years later! This movie almost seems to mock and be a disgrace to the legacy of a classic that all of us have loved since childhood. They made the entire movie a joke. It's isn't portrayed as a fairytale in any way, everything is a joke. They turned a beautiful story into a 2 hour long movie that was nothing more than bad humor and CGI. In 1939 they had it right. The leading people of the movie industry should sit down with their families and watch the original and learn a thing or two.

Took the wife to see this with hopes it would do justice to the original story The Wizard of Oz, unfortunatelly with all the improvements over the years with special effects, and even the acting being better these days, this movie doesnt even come close to the original 1939 movie. The movie itself did have a good idea for a story, on how the Great Oz became who he is, but unfortunately they went in a disappointing direction with even that. The choice of actors and actresses for the main characters also fell short, for a movie like this, they should have did a better job with their choices. I found myself and my wife looking back and forth at each other for the majority of the movie wondering when it was going to get good, as it just seemed to drag, but will say the last half hour did get alot better, but not near enough or soon enough for this movie to deliver, I myself would give this 2 stars, and unless ya have kids dying to see it, wait for the DVD ......... Enjoy :)