All of Oz rejoice: musical epic Wicked has been acclaimed by critics as a winning adaptation of the Broadway smash hit. The movie adapts the first half of Stephen Schwartz's Wizard of Oz-themed blockbuster, itself adapted from Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Cynthia Erivo plays the outcast Elphaba, later to become the green meanie known as the Wicked Witch of the West. Wicked explores Elphaba's first meeting with the perky yet narcissistic Glinda (Ariana Grande), later to become the Good Witch, and her struggle to fit in at Shiz University, run by Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh). It all leads to a fateful meeting with the devious, Oz-dwelling Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), which sets in motion the events dramatised in the musical masterpiece The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Jonathan Bailey co-stars as the rogueish Prince Fiyero who finds himself caught between the two very different witches. The film is directed by musical veteran Jon M. Chu who brought spirited energy to the Lin-Manuel Miranda adaptation In the Heights (2021).
What did the critics make of Wicked? Scroll down to discover the highlights and book your tickets at the end of this post.
Cynthia Erivo hits the high notes as Elphaba
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter: "Wicked belongs to Erivo... Her eyes are an expressive window into the character’s lifetime of hurt and exclusion or defiant pride and anger, sometimes spanning that range and more within one scene or song or single line reading."
Pete Debruge, Variety: "[Cynthia Erivo] can hit the notes no problem, but it’s the work she does in close-up, conveying the emotional nuances of Elphaba’s formative years, that distinguishes this performance from [Idina Menzel's]."
Linda Marric, HeyUGuys: "[Cynthia Erivo] is a true revelation here; she delivers a gorgeously layered performance with plenty of depth and determination."
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian: "The sledgehammer punch is delivered by Erivo as the wounded, angry, alienated Elphaba. In Sunset Boulevard, Norma Desmond famously said that the movies once only needed faces – and Erivo’s face is the ground zero of this film’s blast of entertainment power. She is the film’s Rushmore: charismatic, haughty and vulnerable. Her face exerts a planetary pull on everything else on screen and an impossible thing to look away from."
Ariana Grande is a certified scene-stealer as Glinda
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter: "Grande, lovely in her biggest movie role to date, enacts that quality with a liberal sprinkling of sugar and appealing comedy instincts."
Kristen Lopez, Kristomania: "There are shades of original Broadway Glinda Kristin Chenoweth within Grande’s performance, particularly in the vocal cadence. But this isn’t an imitation of Chenoweth’s performance, more a light homage. On her own merits, Grande does well as the loveably selfish Galinda. What works in Grande’s favor is her ability to be vulnerable. When she harps about not getting her way or overly praising herself as a good person, it’s easy to see what a front it is. She’s also, no surprise, fantastic in the musical turns where her dancing is incredibly acrobatic."
Helen O'Hara, Empire: "Impressively, Ariana Grande more than holds her own against [Cynthia Erivo's] towering performance. Her Galinda is self-centred and monstrously entitled, but she is not quite bad. Grande shows that Galinda’s much-trumpeted image as a ‘nice’ person is the seed from which real goodness could grow, with Elphaba’s inspiration. She, in turn, helps foster Elphaba’s confidence and courage. And while it may seem superfluous to say, both are astonishingly gifted singers, not only in terms of pure voice, but in their vocal control and characterisation."
Jon M. Chu brings a majestic sweep to his vision of Oz
Alex Wood, WhatsOnStage: "The headline here is that Chu’s Wicked is about as good as it could ever be. It’s hard not to fall in love with every pixel of the vibrant world he and his team have laid out before us. The greatest triumph lies in the creative effort undertaken, with the sheer scale of technical design, costuming and set construction nothing short of mind-boggling. What could have ended up as a sterile, green-screen-stuffed Oz becomes a tangible, lived-in space."
Dan Rubins, Slant: "So much of the film—especially the songs—is glorious. As in In the Heights, Chu excels at timing shots to match the music precisely, treating Schwartz’s music with an invigorating reverence. When Glinda sings the line, “Of course, I’ll rise above it,” the melody leaps up on the word “rise” and the camera pans upward.
"Since Chu’s stylistic vigor is essentially playful, Wicked shimmers most distinctively in the comic set pieces, especially 'What Is This Feeling?', choreographed with giddily vicious energy. Much of the broader musical staging, like the ensemble’s dizzying leaps across a series of spinning clock faces in 'Dancing Through Life,' is stunning
The musical numbers are truly impressive
Caroline Siede, Girl Culture: "Inventively staged and exuberantly performed… When it comes to big ensemble numbers like 'What Is This Feeling?', 'Dancing Through Life', and 'One Short Day', Chu’s more-is-more approach has an undeniable power."
Alex Wood, WhatsOnStage: "The highlight has to be the music video-style editing of 'What Is This Feeling?', pitting Grande and Erivo against one another in a whirligig of jealousy and pettiness. The other big, dance-heavy numbers (spot some fantastic familiar faces!) are each soaked with joy.
"Cinematographer Alice Brooks, who worked with Chu on his last film In the Heights and with Lin-Manuel Miranda on tick, tick… Boom!, repeats the same trick of knowing exactly how to shoot musical numbers: long takes, wide shots, let the visual flare of Christopher Scott’s choreography and Paul Tazewell’s costume designs dazzle. It lets the film breathe: nothing feels frantic or rushed."
Are you ready to traverse the yellow brick road? Then book your tickets for Wicked. It opens on November 22nd.
Have you heard about our Wicked gifting range? Our gift cards start from £5, plus you can share in the joy of cinema with our Gift for Two, and our Unlimited gift box is the perfect pressie for the film fan in your life. You can also take a piece of Oz home with you when you purchase our Wicked merch.
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