After leaping from the pages of the book to the world of Broadway, Wicked is the latest piece of beloved media that's been adapted for the big screen. Nearly a decade of anticipation has led up to director Jon M. Chu's anxiously awaited take on the adored musical, and Wicked may not be just as wicked as some may fear.
It's effortless to cast an immense amount of skepticism over how Wicked would fair on the big screen, especially with how inconsistent and legacy-threatening the reboot treatment has proven to be. Fortunately for Wicked, the movie makes an impressive effort to uphold the hearts of its source materials, generously paying homage to The Wizard of Oz through clever nods and epiphany-inducing means of foreshadowing. Wicked is gilded with a gorgeous set design and a dazzling collection of costumes to match, all playing into the vibrancy of keeping the musical's colorful spirit alive. The movie insists on standing out as a spectacle driven by imagination and creativity while honoring Hollywood's Golden Age. At the same time, Wicked ensures that the exceptionally talented Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo keep themselves centered in almost every scene, and refuse to let the prominence of nostalgia wash them away. Between surprisingly emotional performances and near-pitch-perfect renditions of Wicked's most cherished songs, Erivo and Grande were excellently cast in their respective roles.
Chu remains adamantly aware of what Wicked is truly about and refuses to let the story's cautionary messages become lost beneath thrilling musical numbers. Perhaps now more than ever, Elephaba's unrelenting struggle with discrimination feels all the more eye-opening. Erivo champions the weight of depicting the incredibly real pain of racism as it clashes with the whimsy of Oz. Chu doubles down on Wicked's political metaphors as he emphasizes the racial-coded speciesism that plays as a metaphor for xenophobia. There's also room saved for sisterhood, betrayal, the search for self-identity, and the complexities of female friendships that are smartly woven into Chu's timely take on Wicked.
Wicked may know what it wants to say, for the most part, though overserves itself with a gluttonous runtime. The original Broadway musical curtails its entire run of the show to two hours and 45 minutes; the same amount of time that Wicked uses to burn through the first half of its two-part saga. While Wicked's opening reflects on the direct aftermath of The Wizard of Oz, it's unclear where Part 2 may take itself -- or if it's even really necessary. Outside of a sizeable watch time, Wicked slogs itself down with unpolished CGI, and spares a minute too many with Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard. The movie still needs to answer why it changed the casting of a young Nessarose from her first introduction, portrayed by Asian actress Cesily Collette Taylor, before revisiting Nessa later on played by Marissa Bode, a Black actress. While it should be celebrated that Bode is the first wheelchair-using performer to play Nessarose, the unexplained race-swap is distracting.
Wicked mostly defies gravity, and sets out to make sure that it is, indeed, popular. 7.5/10.
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