Wicked

This weekend, Wicked, the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical of the same name, is released in theaters. Wicked shows the origins of the Witches of Oz and follows Glinda and Elphaba as they become friends at school and work for a chance to meet the Wizard of Oz. I was a bit on the fence about seeing this one. An almost 3-hour movie about half of a musical I've never seen didn't seem like my cup of tea but I went in hoping to be won over.

I'm happy to say that this movie won me over. This movie is a big crowd-pleasing film that looks and sounds great. I think it is going to make Wicked fans very happy. The visuals are amazing in this movie. Everything just looks so bright and colorful. All of the sets look great and practically done. It feels like you are in the land of Oz. The movie itself is just so immersive with excellent world-building and all of this exploration that is done. The movie reminds me a lot of the first couple of Harry Potter films just with the sweeping scale of the production design and the depth the movie goes in with exploring the world. Of course with being a top-class Broadway musical, all of the songs are fantastic. There are just so many big musical numbers and great dances. This is the type of big musical that just puts a smile on your face. I also found that the movie was very efficient. With being a 2-hour and 40-minute movie, it doesn't feel that long. The movie never drags and is just so immersive that the time just flies by. Finally, I thought all of the characters were great in the movie. Michelle Yeoh is fun as this powerful magician and Jeff Goldblum just does his thing as the charismatic yet arrogant Wizard of Oz. But the stars of the show are Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Both of these actresses are great in their respective roles. Cynthia Erivo is a fantastic singer and is great as this reserved and shy character and does a great job playing the opposite of the outgoing and confident Ariana Grande as Glinda. I never knew how great of an actress Ariana Grande was until this movie. She plays the Glinda character so well and I think may have a decent shot at an Oscar nomination.

One thing to be made aware of, this is part 1 of the Wicked story but is not advertised that way. The movie just covers Act 1 of the musical so don't go in expecting a complete story.

This is such a great movie that I don't have a ton of criticism. The biggest issue I had was that it did feel more like a stage musical than a movie at times. Just some of the plot structure felt more musical-like than like a film would be written. I get that it is adapted from a musical but generally, movies should modify aspects that work in their original form so that they work in the film. It isn't a big issue, but just something I felt while watching.

In the end, this is a very well-done movie and a great adaption of the musical. The movie defies gravity and my expectation is the best musical of the year and will probably crack my top 10 films of the year.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A- Recommendation: This is a must-see film