Wicked Review

 

So I saw Wicked with my great friend Ami, and here are my thoughts…

 

I like how the movie starts; it begins right after the original Wizard of Oz, which is an interesting place since this was a prequel reimagining story. I didn’t realize it would tie into what we know so much. I’m most familiar with the ‘39 film, so this is a good way to re-introduce me to the world and establish things. So everyone is… and spoilers for an 85-year-old movie… celebrating the witch's demise.

 

We’re introduced to Ariana Grande as Glinda, and she’s definitely the best part of this movie, not only in capturing the feel of the original character, but that girl has impeccable comedic timing, not to mention an incredible singing voice. She felt like a ditzy blonde mixed with a 1930s film starlet, which perfectly fits the Wizard of Oz feel. She better get an Oscar nomination; that’s all I’m saying.

 

But then we go back and see just why that Witch was so Wicked… We cut to Oz’s version of Hogwarts called Shiz… which honestly isn’t a great name because it sounds too much like Sh!t, but maybe that’s a reference I’m not getting.

 

Since this is a prequel, they do play around with the lore and people's expectations and knowledge of the story pretty well. Some of it can feel a bit blunt with the “So this is where this person got this thing, this is how that connects to this, and we know where that leads” stuff, but there are some clever uses woven into the movie that add an extra layer to a character, event, or the world that expands the story.

 

I got to tip my hat... not a witch's hat, lol, to Cynthia Erivo. When I was a kid, the Wicked Witch of the West always freaked me out, so I came in with a bias against the character. Everyone was cheering at the beginning. I’m like, “Yeah, that’s what she gets… I remember what you did at the scarecrow” lol. But Erivo brought a lot of empathy and confidence to the role, not to mention another incredible singing voice; the girl knows how to belt it out.

 

John W. Chu did a great job directing; the dude knows how to film giant set pieces with multiple characters and dancing going on, which is not an easy task to do, but that guy has some Martin Scorsese-type camera moves that were very impressive. Also, a small thing I enjoyed: he had a split-screen shot for one song, which the Brian DePalma fan in me really liked lol.

 

There’s a subplot that was very reminiscent of Animal Farm; that’s a cool wrinkle in the story I did not expect but very much enjoyed. Peter Dinklage did a great voice-acting performance as well.

 

There are a few “twists” I feel are going to be set up for the sequel that I already guessed… Pretty much when they first pop up.

 

There’s this prince character that shows up as a love interest for Elphaba and Glinda; the actor does a great job, but that dude looks 37. I mean, all the other “students” look like they’re in their late 20s, and I’m willing to go along with it for the most part, but still, it’s a little distracting when this “student” looks like he could be a teacher pulling a “hello fellow kids”, but the dudes acting and dance talent makes up for it.

 

I like the sets; they feel like Naboo from Star Wars if designed by Vineyard Vines… for normal people, Naboo is inspired by classic Roman and Italian architecture to help paint the picture

 

The heart of this movie is Elphaba and Glinda's friendship; it’s very reminiscent of Professor X and Magneto's friendship (this movie has a lot of parallels to X-Men: First Class, which is a compliment). I think the movie makes good use of the runtime showing their initial rivalry turning into friendship; the almost 3 hours moved by pretty quickly, which is pretty impressive. There are a few areas here and there I wish they had expanded upon concerning their friendship and what’s going on at the school, but it’s not the end of the world.

 

Glinda has two lackeys in the movie, who, for the most part, are fine; they’re mainly there to give reaction shots and be over the top… but it’s never annoying or too much.

 

The extras are all very good, but sometimes it can feel a bit stagy. By that I mean, in a play, actors have to emote very big because there are people in the back or far away, and it’s hard to see the stage, and those people paid good money to be there, so those actors are going to make sure those people can see what they are doing and read the emotions on stage. But this is a movie, so the camera can go wherever, and when it gets close to them and they’re acting big, it can feel a little intense or over the top. Now I understand they’re trying to re-create the feel of the stage show; that’s why audiences came, but sometimes it can be a bit much. Luckily that doesn’t happen too much and is mostly a non-issue.

 

I’m not a musical guy, so if you’re looking for a real nuanced opinion on the songs, this ain’t the place... but overall I liked the songs, and one or two are definitely earworms that I will think about in the future, so I can see why the musical was so successful.

 

I really enjoyed the themes of the movie; it explores social politics, identity, and destiny, but in a more nuanced way than you would think. It was rather interesting in a surprising way.

 

I like the Emerald City… Although it could’ve been greener, there were some like grays and golds and even some browns in there… Come on, guys, stay on brand, lol.

 

Jeff Goldblum is fun at playing this charismatic figure with tons of personality; you can see why everyone is enthralled by him.

 

I think the climax and character beats should’ve had more time to play out; like for a nearly three-hour movie, the big twist happens a bit too quickly and all at once. I wish it had a more natural flow to it.

 

Now the most enjoyable part of the movie was seeing it with my buddy Ami, and one of the big themes of the movie is friendship, so seeing it with a friend really added something special to the experience… She really liked it too, if anyone’s wondering, lol.

 

So while musicals are usually not my thing, Wicked does what all prequels should aspire to: it expands the world and adds more dimensions and depth to the established story and characters… I give it a high four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️