Good movie but grossly overrated

good back-story, and good acting

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

A grown-up Dorothy Gale is a successful children's book author from Kansas. She travels to New York to develop her Oz books and she soon discovers that Oz is a real place. She and several of the Oz characters have been deposited into the real world and forgotten their origins. The Witches and Princess Langwidere are after the key to the Book of Bini Aru which holds the Changing Word that created Oz.This is almost three hours of a modern revision of the Wizard of Oz. The premise could be interesting but this is an utter mess. There is the confused exposition to lay down the groundwork at the beginning. The main actors are bland. There are a few bigger actors slumming it here. It's a grind of confusing characters, unnecessary turns, and second-rate CGI. The ambition simply outstrips the abilities.

I was surprised at how bad this movie was. Choose your criteria and they will all come up bad. Really poor acting consistent with the junky TV series, shorts and D-level movies that fill out the actors other film credits. Disjointed, jump around editing and directing producing a story that seemed like a bunch of half hour TV series patched together. Writing and script of a modern day Dorothy showing up at a farm house with a magical key to save Oz from the bad witches was a boring and too frequently copied plot line found in many fantasy movies. Dialogue was written by the students in a high school drama class. A couple of cheap CGI effects of swirling air to represent Dorothy escaping Oz and of a tornado and some '60s era zapping effect from the witch's wand - that's it.

I can honestly say I watched this with an open mind both parts 1 & 2.It was horrifically acted save for Christopher Llyod as the wizard.The characters fail to make you feel anything for them, the wicked witch of the easts death was rubbish (she sees the house about to drop on her & looks up & says "Oh dear" in a certificate 12 DVD she could have said "oh $**t!").Toto must be immortal as he was a young dog at the start & continues to look young the entire movie.The guy playing the scarecrow should have been left to burn, all he did was produce crocodile tears when he was threatened.3 odd hours of my life I'll never get back.If you want to see a good version of OZ I suggest you see WICKED at Londons Apollo Victoria theatre.Not worth wasting £10 on the DVD. Should have just set lite to the tenner.If you have not watched this movie & are a fan of OZ for the love of God avoid it.

I was expecting garbage and I was surprised. Owing that this movie came out of SyFy's stables, I thought it was going to be a bunch of CGI trash. I was quite wrong. While the acting is not strong at times, I think that is because the writing is a little flat. Some of the Acting is quite hammy at times, and over the top. Sprinkle in a judicious use of munchkins, and other baddies and I guess it balances out. Some of the prop work and costumes are pretty cool. Christopher Lloyds outfit is spot on Steampunk at it's best, as well as The Tin Woodsman prop works. Some of the City EFX, are lacking, as mentioned the lightning is a little lame. I guess all in all though, it was worth a watch, and could be viewed by the kiddies.