Today, we review a film from Universal Pictures that was based on a popular musical that has had a long run for a long while. Not to mention that it is the origin story of the Wicked Witch Of The West, and The Good Witch Of The East. Starring Ariana Grande-Butera, Cynthia Erivo, and a few other people, the movie is Wicked.
Plot: The movie tells the origin story of how Elphaba Thropp (aka the future Wicked Witch Of The West, and played by Cynthia Erivo), and Glinda (aka The Good Witch Of The East, and played by Ariana Grande-Butera) each came to be on the path to each of their choices that they decided to make in the end.
Well, even though it is only the first of two parts of this musical (the second film comes out next year), this first part was still very good. First of all, the music was very top notch. Still, some of the highlights included songs like “I’m Not That Girl”, “Popular”, and even “Defying Gravity”. Even the other songs that I didn’t mention were very good, and you’ll probably find yourself humming, and singing even after this movie is over, especially since most of them are from the original Wicked musical that this film is based on. Oh, and did I forget to mention that Stephen Schwartz, who is known for helping out with music from films like Godspell, and The Prince Of Egypt, also did the songs for the original musical, and for this film itself? Having him at the helm of the music was most likely a very well done choice. Also, the way that the film was setup was very good, and has a very good fantasy feel to it. What’s even more is that the storyline, and a lot of the CGI, especially with the animals, seems to make Wicked: Part One make the film have a Harry Potter, or Fantastic Beasts type of vibe. I guess that’s not that surprising, since this is one of those where we have fantasy sorcery included in this film. With all that said, did we really need this film divided into two parts? Well, maybe, maybe not. Then again, the original play was divided into Act One, and then Act Two. This film was also around 2.5 to 3 hours. So, the fact that Universal Pictures, and the filmmakers involved decided to go this route probably does make sense. And hey, at least this film wasn’t divided into three parts, with one of those films having a little ton much comedic nonsense, and dragging a little too much at times (talking to you, Hobbit three part film series). In this case, it probably does make sense dividing it into three parts. For one, again, the songs help make this movie even better. They even help develop the characters even more. Putting the songs aside, having at least the first part helps make room to develop the characters very well. I’m sure that when Part Two is released next year, the characters will be developed even better. This film does show that some people do end being even more complex than we realize. Anyway, the world building of Oz was also really great. The designs, the trains, the clothing, and more, also really great. The characters were also really great, be it Glinda, Elphaba, Fiyero, Nessarose, you name it, they were all really great characters. Some of them had really great lines that helped make this film very funny at times. Finally, this film can help teach some very good lessons like how you can’t always trust people that come in your life, and how not all decisions are the right ones.
The only issue that one could likely have with Wicked is that some of character development, and some of the story could feel a little confusing at times. That is especially near the end of the film. But then again, that may be the case for those who have at least seen the film, but not the musical. So, maybe it might make more sense if you see both? You got me!
And that’s my review for Wicked: Part One. Though some elements of the film might feel a little confusing at times, the movie is overall really great. Truthfully, with movies like this, Moana 2, Gladiator 2, and more getting released over the course of the Thanksgiving, and Christmas holiday season, we may yet have one of the better years of films being released, as 2024 comes to a close. Wicked: Part One is obviously in this lineup. This film has heart, there’s comedy, likable characters, some of the most top notch songs that you can think of, and more that help make this film very good. If you haven’t seen Wicked:Part One, I highly recommend it. I can guarantee that this will especially be one of those times that you’ll be glad that you got out of the house to venture to the movie theater to see a movie. So yeah, see this film, and see what you think!
Final Rating: 9.5/10 ⭐️
P.S. So, even though it’s shortly after my 700th film review, I’ve decided to still try this new rating. That is since, well, I’ve heard that this rating system might be a little better than the letter grading system. I might go back to that sometime in the future. But we’ll see! Anyway, just thought you all should know!
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 