4 STARS
The Wicked movie is a high-gloss, high-reward adaptation of the famous stage show.
The film follows Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), a young woman who is misunderstood because of her green skin, and Glinda (Ariana Grande), a popular girl, who become friends at Shiz University in the Land of Oz. Elphaba’s magic draws the attention of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum), but in doing so she and Glinda find their unlikely friendship at a crossroads.
Directed by Jon M Chu, Wicked is an adaptation of the first half of the stage show. It’s riding on the back of a huge wave of expectation; after all, the stage show is one of the most successful and popular musicals of all time. And this film lives up to the hype.
It’s anchored by two wonderful lead performances from Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. Embodying Elphaba and Glinda respectively, they both have the lyrical chops and the acting talent to carry the big and small moments alike. They are ably matched by the visual extravaganza that is this movie. It blends an array of high-quality CGI with a range of practical sets and some wondrous costuming to create a world that feels magical, yet lived in, and always pulsating and thriving with colour and energy.
There lingers still some questions perhaps about the sanity of splitting this film into two parts, and there are definitely moments throughout that feel like they could be pacier; after all, this is a 2 hour 40 minute movie that is only half of the stage show. But there is enough to love here that by the end of the film, in one climactic, glorious, scenery-chewing rendition of the hit song Defying Gravity, you’ll be hard pressed to not be fully enthralled and singing along.
