Oz, the Great and Powerful, or not

The new Disney movie Oz, the Great and Powerful is set to open about a week after this post.  The early critical reviews are anything but great and powerful.  Here are two typical examples:  W.L. Swarts posted this review on his blog, and the Hollywood Reporter has this to say about the movie.  Other early reviews can been seen at IMDB.com.

The Hollywood Reporter sees James Franco as "fatally miscast" as the lead character and mentioned that Robert Downey Jr. was the original pick for the role. These quotes pretty much sum up their opinion of the movie...

Very quickly, the disappointments begin accumulating

Quite the opposite of the great earlier film, the Oz here is a dull place to be

 Swarts also panned the movie, saying it is oddly similar to Alice in Wonderland...

Oz The Great And Powerful is not unenjoyable, but it is thoroughly obvious and it is, at best, a popcorn movie that seeks to entertain and overwhelm as opposed to telling a story that is worthwhile or compelling.

Swarts also had an interesting comment in his review, namely that Disney's large fanbase will make the movie a hit despite its shortcomings.  That didn't seem to work for John Carter or Mars needs Moms.  So, we'll see what us regular people have to say once they have seen the movie.