Wicked (part, one) a Broadway musical adaptation hit theaters on Nov. 27, and while Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has over 40,000 users ranking the movie at 8.1/10, the truth is…
It was way overhyped.
As a person who has not read the book it was everything it had to be, but the story just doesn’t have much to work with. The original story, “The Wizard of Oz,” was a brilliant concept, and might just be all Kansas will ever be known for. This musical/fantasy adaptation was cool but unnecessary.
Wicked was full of crazy realistic imagery, complex characters and quality filmmaking. The show had some amazing actors and actresses that carried the movie. I do believe that if it wasn’t for the astonishing casting, well-thought marketing, and time spent making the sets the film would have flopped.
It was fun to see the old Elphaba (Idina Menzel) and the original Glinda (Kristin Chenoweth) make an appearance from the original Broadway musical.
The two hour, 40 minute film didn’t interest me until the last 30 minutes. The plot twist of The Wizard of Oz turning against Elphaba (his daughter) when she will no longer be his magic puppet finally arose and added some interesting aspects to the film.
There were some good quotes throughout the movie, but this one has the most significance to the story: “The best way to bring folks together is to give them a real good enemy,” the Wizard of Oz said.
The first part of Wicked set up a remarkable starting line for part two of this film, but if it’s not well executed it won’t beat the nostalgia of the movie “The Wizard of Oz”.
My favorite song on the official Wicked soundtrack is “Defying Gravity” with Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) and Ariana Grande (Glinda) singing. This song had huge importance to the movie overall as it led to Elphaba’s uprising of becoming the “Wicked” Witch of the West.
This movie did have something good and that was the love triangle between Elphaba, Glinda, and Prince Fiyero. This love triangle could set up part two of the film nicely, If executed correctly. It could show the true wicked side of each of the best friends Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande).
Part two of “Wicked” will be insane, with ways connecting the old story and the movie “The Wizard of Oz”. If the love triangle unfolds itself, and Elphaba gets her revenge on everyone that did her wrong, the second part of this movie will be wicked itself and worth all the hype it is getting.
Overall the movie wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever seen either. I give this film an 6.5/10.
And let’s just say if you haven’t read the book or seen the movie, the story really is wicked.
