Review – Wicked (2024)

Content Guide

Violence/Scary Images: Animals are transfigured in a mildly grotesque fashion. Light violence and action sequences.

Language/Crude Humor: No profanity. Mild, occasional crude humor.

Drug/Alcohol References: A few characters drink a mysterious liquid/an elixir.

Sexual Content: Characters kiss romantically. The film cuts to a woman giving birth, so sex is implied in the previous scene. Characters date each other and talk of relationships.

Spiritual Content: None.

Other Negative Content: Light representations of bullying. CGI animals experience cruelty.

Positive Content: Redemptive, loving themes. A strong sense of sisterhood. Self-confidence and perseverance.

Review

Wicked has absolutely taken the world by storm upon its theatrical release. Not only are audiences and critics absolutely enamored with the thing, but every aspect of it seems to have taken off; songs are charting, interviews going viral, and niche clips and tidbits taking off into every conceivable corner of the internet.

How’s the film itself, though? It’s alright. Wicked is a perfectly serviceable, often fun musical, but almost nothing about it suggests the reception that it’s almost unanimously garnered.

It’ll all mean a whole lot more to fans of the property. Many of those going to see this adaptation are familiar with the stage play, or story in general, and (fairly so) criticisms mean little in the face of what this film means to them.

But there’s a lot of good and bad here either way. The best of the film is to do with the cast; Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba are brilliant leads. Truthfully, their charisma and pure screen dominance may be a large part of why the film has exploded. The two of them are a generational pairing.

Their impact feeds into the musical aspect too, as expected. While there are other players who get tunes, Grande and Erivo carry the film in this regard as well. Each of them get multiple chances to put on a vocal show, and there’s a visual cacophony that surrounds and supports them during these moments.

Outside of those sequences, Wicked’s visuals are questionable. While the practical sets are impressive in nearly every scene, they’re pointlessly overlaid with a digital smear of glum and grey. Greens and yellows are muted, while pinks stand out awkwardly and unfittingly among them.

It’s hard to tell how or exactly why this happened, but either way, the film severely suffers for it. It’s not even that the CGI is bad either—the movie convincingly sells talking animals and flying monkeys—but there’s a disconnect between the practical shine and the digital sheen. Something is slightly wrong at the core of that aspect, and the feeling is impossible to shake all the way through.

Even so, much of Wicked is immune, in a way, to criticism simply because how faithful it is to the source material. The story it adapts is time-worn and evergreen; people just don’t get tired of it, evidenced again by the sweeping, soaring reception of this latest iteration.

In spite of an occasionally crawling pace, this is a somewhat moving, consistent adventure that appeals to audiences across the board. Throw in that aforementioned firepower in the cast and an obscenely large budget, and this was the most obvious success of all time from the moment it was announced.

When it comes down to it, it’s broadly difficult to go wrong with Wicked. You can take just about anyone to see it–the partner, the family, the friend group–and you’re guaranteed a fair bit of entertainment and whimsy regardless.

But going for much more may leave you wanting, well… more. Perhaps the inevitable second part will add substance to this world, but for now, go in with your expectations tempered. Wicked is what it is; have fun with what you can and don’t take the rest to heart.