The first in the pair of “Wicked” movies released Nov. 22 to critical acclaim, boasting an 89% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.1 on IMDB.
The movie is based on the broadway musical under the same name which debuted over 20 years ago in 2003. The movie has a fairly long runtime sitting at 2 hours and 40 minutes, odd considering the play has a runtime of 2 hours and 45 minutes. That means the first of 2 parts had almost exceeded the original runtime.
The movie itself is very enjoyable with the scenery and set design really standing out. Specifically, the school library, something about the set really strikes a chord with audiences especially knowing the set is completely constructed leaving no parts to the computer.
The talent behind the scenes allows the cast to shine, and shine they do. The musical aspect was sure to leave a bad taste in some people’s mouths, however, the pacing and performance of the songs were spectacular. At no point did this movie seem like it was overly reliant on songs or the cast’s star power since people knew they would be singing long-standing classics such as ‘Popular’ and ‘Defying Gravity’.
Arianna Grande plays Galinda, a rich preppy student with magical ambitions that far outweigh her mind’s capabilities. Throughout the movie, Galinda is portrayed as a stuck-up rich girl who is obsessed with her status as she tries to court her love interest and get into the private sourcery seminars.
The way this happens is through blatantly disrespectful behavior, mispronouncing simple words, and through other people’s eyes acknowledging she isn’t as special as she believes. She isn’t all bad, but it takes a while to get her there and that can feel frustrating at times, especially given the pacing of certain scenes where you get no break and are thrown into multiple views on a scenario in which one is obviously the correct view.
The narrative throughout is engaging and colorful doing a great job at honoring the original work and expanding on it with the luxuries a large movie budget affords. The original story was moving and powerful and none of that feels lost in the longer runtime, the runtime almost feels like a gift to die-hard wicked fans.
Cynthia Erivo plays Elphaba, the other soon-to-be witch. She does amazing in her role which she’s quite comfortable in considering her involvement in the “Wicked in Concert” production which debuted in 2021. She goes through much development as she learns to accept herself and be loved by others.
Initially, almost every interaction she has is combative beginning with her making herself the enemy and explaining why she’s green as she’s immensely self-conscious about it. But throughout the movie admittedly with Galinda’s help, she is able to live in the public eye more comfortably.
She shows her selfless nature throughout the movie and she aims to help anyone she can with her powers although she feels she is cursed. With the help of Madame Morrible, the lead sourcery professor she is able to understand her powers as gifts and not curses.
This all comes down crashing towards the end of the film when her powers reveal their true impact. This comes at a pivotal moment when Elphaba learns the true intentions of the governing body of Oz, creating a gigantic discourse.
The film really does an amazing job at showing us that the government is not always correct especially with the animal racism narrative being thrown at you throughout the film. It shows the audience that with enough power the right views can prevail but people need to band together in order to accomplish their goals.
Towards the very end of the film, the setup for the second becomes apparent and the sadness dawns on the audience that the movie is coming to an end. The friendship between Galinda and Elphaba reaches a nice conclusion, for now, that leaves a warm feeling in the audience’s minds. Lastly, we begin to see the final transformation from Elphaba into the ‘Wicked Witch’, this is tremendously exciting and creates large anticipation for the second film which is set to come out in 2025.
Wicked is a must-see for all audiences, a rare gem in today’s media.
