Tin Man

Right, so this was a trippy movie. It's technically a three episode miniseries providing a unique twist on the Wizard of Oz theme that was aired on the Sci-Fi channel in 2007. The cast was actually wonderful, with lots of familiar faces (the main one for me being Zooey Deschanel) that portrayed their classic characters creatively. "DG", the movie's "Dorothy" character was particularly refreshing in her reaction to dire situations. I also found the plot to be creative, if a bit out there. I mean come on folks, the show was made for the Sci Fi channel. Things are going to be weird.

The iconic motifs of the Wizard of Oz were all included, but in a random order; there were definitely trees that threw apples, but they weren't anywhere near the discovery of the tin man. That sort of thing was refreshing. I also loved the coloring of the film, which also seemed an homage to the original. The palette was richly saturated with unbelievable blues and greens and dark scenes that surpassed normal moodiness.



But enough praise.

There is no reason for this show to be four and a half hours long. Jigga What??? I could not believe how much time we spent in the Sorcerer's castle - it was straight up an hour! And there was so much running through woods and along creeks, searching under stones and over hill and dale and oh sorry I fell asleep. The other huge failing for Tin Man is its CGI effects. Do you remember watching Wishbone after school? That's the kind of graphics I'm talking about. It just had no place next to the kind of acting we got glimpses of (I don't think any actor could be on his game all the time with that junk going down). Maybe it's too much to ask for on a cable channel's budget. I just had high hopes.

Finally, what's the point of calling this Tin Man? Yes, it's quirky and drew me in. So there you have it, don't you? That's the point. But it had no special emphasis on the Tin Man, which dissapointed me tremendously. I was looking forward to an exploration of a sub character, and I think Wizard of Oz gives plenty of depth to the Tin Man for a spin off mini series. I must be silly to think a movie named after a character will be about that character. The movie is mocking me right now, laughing at me for making such an assumption.

Should you see it? I'm going to have to say no on this one, unless you have nothing to do for a quarter of the wakeful portion of your day. You know it's got some bad qualities if a movie enthusiast like myself is giving it the nix.