Oz the Great and Powerful

How did charlatan magician Oscar Diggs end up as the Wizard in the Land of Oz? And what caused the Wicked Witch of the West to become so evil? All this and more is skilfully answered in director Sam Raimi's vibrantly colourful flight of fairy-tale fantasy. It opens with a delightful monochrome prologue that sees Diggs (an engaging James Franco) whisked from Kansas to Oz by tornado, where he gains some unusual travelling companions, including a flying monkey and china girl. The film tries hard to be an original adventure as well as paying tribute to The Wizard of Oz, but it lacks the emotional resonance of the 1939 Judy Garland classic. The thin plot simply fills in the back stories of L Frank Baum's much-loved characters, including Glinda (a saccharine Michelle Williams), as well as providing links to key events to follow. It's good-looking and fun to watch, but it's certainly no Wicked.