UK Release Date: 8th March 2013.

Stars: Sam Raimi (director), James Franco, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz, Zach Braff.

Plot: Oscar Diggs, small time circus magician, gets hurled into the wonderful world of Oz where he meets three witches who are not convinced that he is the great wizard they have been expecting. Oscar is drawn into the epic problems facing Oz and must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late and transform himself into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz.

Oz: The Great and the Powerful (or just Oz for short) is the prequel that nobody needed and nobody wanted but here it is anyway.

The trailer is actually rather clever in my opinion. The film itself is obviously a prequel to the wonderful classic film Wizard of Oz and the trailer acknowledges it’s ancestory (something which will hopefully be true of the film as well) by starting in black and white for the ‘real world’ and then making the transition to bright and vibrant colourful scenes upon landing in Oz. There is even a hint that the Wicked Witch may appear at the end of the trailer so keep watching for that.

James Franco is always a good performer despite his choice of films being sometimes questionable but it seems as though he is just a guy who wants to have fun with his career so he always puts in his best which is great and I think that he is a fantastic choice for the role of the Wizard. Mila Kunis seems to be the big female lead of this vehicle and seems to be very prominent in Hollywood these days although whether that’s down to her acting abilities or the fact she has been named ‘sexiest woman in the world’ still remains to be seen in the long run.

I’m not quite sure who the audience for Oz is; it looks too mature for kids but too ‘teenagery’ for adults… are today’s generation even interested in The Wizard of Oz? I guess, come next year, we will find out.