Wicked: Nothing's Going To Bring This Review Down!
Wicked defies expectations and comes in swinging
"Wicked: Part One" is the first half of the most recent adaption of the marvelous broadway play Wicked. The movie follows Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivo (The Outsider), as she strives to prove herself at the wizard school of Shiz.
There she meets her rival and friend Glinda, played by Ariana Grande, as they discover the powers inside them, and the wicked turn it brings for Elphaba as she discovers her dreams of Shiz and the world of Oz aren't as cracked up as they seem to be.
This is my first time seeing anything Wicked related due to my appreciation for theatre not being the most welcome. I'm very picky when it comes to theatre and musicals, as I really need to like the story in order to stay invested.
I now owe everyone that encouraged me to see the production an apology as this is one of the best musicals and adaptions of a play, I've ever seen! This movie is truly stunning.
Erivo puts their best foot forward in the role as Elphaba or The Wicked Witch, as she is amazing in the movie. Elphaba certaintly has a dark and tragic backstory, and a little risque to put in a PG movie. Elphaba is a character the audience can gravitate to being that all the injustice done to her in the film, changed how I see the original "Wizard of Oz" movie.
Although I don't care for Ariana Grande, I thought her performance as Glinda was perfect. She totally embodies The Good Witch Of The North, and was a great foil for Elphaba. Their friendship is a highlight of the film and is really fun to see these varying personalities bounce off each other like protons and electrons colliding to make an element. The element they create is great entertainment.
The sets in the movie are stunning, like they built an actual working train for the movie, and it's only in the film for like 30 seconds. The dedication is absolutely Oscar worthy. The costumes are colorful and bouncy and the CGI was fantastic. All the animal characters looked like I could reach out and pet them.
The soundtrack will blow your socks off as everyone's at the top of their game, and there's not one bad song in the movie. The soundtrack had me tapping my toes more that Dorthy skipping down the yellow brick road. Defying Gravity was definitely the highlight of the playlist and set chills across my body like a raging river on a stormy day.
While this movie is great, it has small flaws.
This movie only advertized as "Wicked," but when the title card appears its "Wicked: Part One," which can piss some people off, knowing you're not getting the full story.
Madame Morrible needed some time to be fleshed out because of the twist in the end of the movie. I felt like I needed more of an explanation of why she did the things she did.
I also felt that Jeff Goldblum was miscast as the wizard. He's good but I could name a few other people who should have taken the role, *cough* Taron Edgerton *cough*. I also feel the movie skips over the magic school element which I would have liked to have seen more of, at least different students talents and so on.
Overall the movie is a strong 9/10, as I had some complaints, but that shouldn't distract you from seeing this movie in the biggest, loudest theater you have. It deserves the effort to be seen in the best quality possible. A sing-a-long version will also be available on Christmas this year.
Reviewer Carter Salley is a junior majoring in Media Arts. He is the co-host of Central Michigan Life's pop culture podcast "Raving Geeks."
