Oz the Great and Powerful

Interesting concept based on L. Frank Baum's novels that gives us more history into the title character, played with much charisma by James Franco. However, once Sam Raimi sails us to all the favorite destinations like the Yellow Brick Road, Emerald City and Munchkin Land, you have to wonder if this CGI infested prequel—where our title character, who was played so coyly mysteriously by Frank Morgan in the 1939 classic, originates with little depth or interesting backstory other than he's a trickster—is really worth the trip. Mila Kunis is awful, Weisz is very useless (especially with the absence of ruby slippers due to legal restraints with using iconic elements that originated in the 1939 film), and Williams is lackluster (though this is not the fault of Williams, as her character's substance is downgraded with cheap special-effects like the floating bubble actually bouncing on the ground). Perhaps the film's worst quality is a simple one... the film just goes on and on for far too long. However, the climax is pretty decent... for a prequel.