The new movie “Wicked” based on the broadway show was released in theatres Nov. 22 and was easily the best movie/musical I have ever seen. Cynthia Erivo playing “Elphaba” and Ariana Grande as “Glinda” was the best choice producers could have made and exceeded the limits of what I was expecting. These two women’s voices melted together in a way I have never experienced before and had me immediately listening to the soundtrack when I got home. The set was visually captivating and captured the ambience of the Wicked feeling perfectly. All special effects were breathtaking and everything that came together for this film is proof of all of the credit it has been getting.
First, I want to express how insane Erivo and Grande were in this movie. Their voices were so spectacular that it had people tearing up and crying in theatres out of pure beauty. The way they encapsulated the characters of “Elphaba” and “Glinda” was near perfect and they did the original Broadway cast justice. Many thought Granda wouldn’t be a good fit for the role, as we have rarely seen her in any films, but she took Glinda and fully emerged herself into it. When watching the movie, I didn’t see the two characters as Erivo and Grande, but as their true parts, and I found that refreshing, as many actors these days act the same in every movie they’re in.
Another huge part of the movie that made it that much better was the ensemble. You can tell producers were not loosey goosey with picking people to be in the ensemble, and it translated on screen. The huge dance scenes gave each song an extra power that wouldn’t have been there without it. All of their voices following Erivo in the final song “Defying Gravity” made it that much more emotional and captivating. A lot of times the ensemble don’t get as much credit where it is due, but in this movie, it was clearly obvious how special each of these dancers/singers were.
One thing that bugs me and many others is the length of the movie. The original Broadway show is 2 hours and 40 minutes in total, and the first part of the movie released this year was 2 hours and 40 minutes. In my opinion, the first part of the movie never bored or exhausted me, and I can’t imagine them taking out any scenes to cut the length down, but I don’t think Wicked fans should have to wait a whole year to watch the second part. The length of the movie is really my only critique, because everything else reached its full potential in matching the musical and raising the stakes.
All in all, I loved this movie and highly recommend you see it, especially if you are a musical theatre fan. The emotional and magical journey the characters take you on is one you don’t want to miss!
Rating: 9.5/10