Gibbers Siemon
The actors (and acting) is low grade. A waste of Alan Cumming's abilities. Ms. Deschanel is a silly, weightless presence (if I can even use the word "presence" for her, here) and everyone relies too heavily on that so-called (niche) talent of hers. The idea was really good but very poorly executed. Well-crafted nods to the original book or 1930's classic movie would have been great little "drops" in this series production but not done, or the few that were were again, poorly done. Why the focus on the Tin Man, I don't know. That character in this production is not in keeping with the original and the actor was not up to it. Goodness knows why the lion's character, Raw, was in there as he was barely a set decoration (again, weak, weak script and all the character names were weird, random and not clever). The scarecrow had a plausible twist but poor writing ability and script development dropped the ball and instead tried for random quirkiness which fell flat, flat, flat. The nemesis character was another waste. The costumes were as predictable (and therefore boring) as the script was goofy and meandering. I bought the DVD's for $5 and it's going in the trash.
annarac
It was fun to watch an updated version of L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of OZ." It is patterned after the original and follows a similar story line, yet has a totally different feel with added twists and unexpected details.The main character is played by Zooey Deschanel, with her 'girl next door' charm and simple innocence, I thought she was the perfect choice for the next Dorothy Gale.Instead of going by the original name of "Dorothy" the heroin answers to "D.G." and is accompanied by new versions of the scare crow, tin man, and lion.Rather than a Wicked Witch there is an Evil Sorcerers who is as beautiful as she is evil, no green face and snarl to easily identify her as 'the bad guy.' (She doesn't even carry a broom!) The wizard of OZ is actually known as "The Mystic Man" and is played, very well, I might ad, by Richard Dreyfus.This Epic Adventure was labeled as "NOT RATED" but I'd give it a rating of PG - the flying monkeys are a bit scary as are the witch's soldiers.Watcher beware, this film has a Run Time of: 265 Mins. (4 hours and 25 minutes) it is broken into 3 parts, so you could easily stop and come back to it later. However, it is so intriguing that it's hard to stop watching. We didn't get to bed until 2:00am.
TheLittleSongbird
I love the book, and adore the 1939 film, so I watched Tin Man with low expectations despite having enjoyed Alice two years previous. And while uneven, it was interesting. More a re-imagining than an adaptation, I did like it in general. It is perhaps too long, with the story rather too thin for the length and it starts off slow, but the more interesting the events turn into the better paced it gets. The best assets are the production values and music. The mini-series does look great, the effects are above decent compared to what it could have been, the costumes are well-tailored and the sets are colourful and striking. The music is memorable and quite rousing in spots too. The dialogue amuses and flows well mostly, apart from the odd stilted moment, and the direction is serviceable. The acting is good. Zooey Deschannel is probably Tin Man's weak link, though she isn't bad. She looks beguiling with an endearing and refreshing wide-eyed innocence but she can occasionally be a little stiff and whiny too. Alan Cumming however is wonderfully quirky as Glitch, Raw and Zero are entertaining and Kathaleen Robertson is chillingly beautiful. Overall, interesting, flawed but likable re-imagining. 7/10 Bethany Cox
kingderella
"Tin Man" is "The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz" re-imagined as a dark, epic steampunk fantasy. The concept of bringing out the darker undercurrents of a beloved children's tale reminded me a lot of the computer game "American McGee's Alice", although "Tin Man" isn't quite that violent. Another obvious influence is Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.It's a concept with the potential to be very entertaining, but it doesn't quite come together. The biggest problem is that "Tin Man" hasn't got any depth whatsoever - the original tale's messages are completely lost - and it doesn't have enough style to compensate for it's lack of substance.Some of the special effects just look cheap and some sets and costumes are terribly unimaginative. The cast isn't all that great either. Zooey Deschanel is adorable, but she makes a terrible action heroine, coming across as unintentionally clumsy and clueless. Worst of all is Raoul Trujillo as the laughable "Raw" (the character analogous to the Cowardly Lion). And the whole series just goes on for way too long.There are nice moments scattered throughout the series, such as the re-imagined Emerald City, and some of the actors do a pretty good job. But ultimately "Tin Man" is a wasted opportunity.
AD
