Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked” (2024) is a grandiose and gorgeous movie musical, following students Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) on their journey from enemies to friends — then back to “enemies” — as Elphaba becomes the infamous Wicked Witch of the West.
The movie, which I saw over Thanksgiving break in the immersive IMAX format, is an adaptation of Act 1 of the eponymous musical that took the world by storm in 2003 after premiering in San Francisco.
Many fans had high expectations for the adaptation and its director, Chu, known for critical and commercial successes like “In the Heights” (2021) and “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018). Luckily, Chu and Universal Studios met and even, at times, exceeded, expectations! Chu took his years of experience working on musicals and big-budget productions and applied it to this massive project.
Dana Fox and Winnie Holzman do a masterful job holding space for the original Gregory Maguire novel and the Broadway book to the screenplay. Furthermore, every musical number in the film is vibrant and beaming with energy, which can’t be said about other modern movie musicals. My favorite numbers include “Dancing Through Life” and the most famous song from the musical, “Defying Gravity.”
The performances in “Wicked” are enthusiastic and deeply committed, especially from the leading duo of Erivo and Grande. Both actresses perfectly embody their respective characters and give the most layered and nuanced performance of their careers. Jonathan Bailey as Prince Fiyero is utterly charming and scene-stealing. Other performances include Ethan Slater as Munchkin Boq, Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard of Oz and Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible. Slater was amusing, but I found Yeoh to be out of her depth in the musical. Goldblum will always just be Jeff Goldblum to me — I can never see the character he’s playing.
On the technical side, “Wicked” is a marvel, from jaw-dropping visual effects, for the most part, to stellar production and costume design. Alice Brooks’ cinematography was dynamic and fluid, especially during the musical numbers, but I found the color grading to be a bit dull. Some colors did not pop when they should have. Continuing on the negative note, I found some of the dialogue sloppy and repetitive, and there was no reason for the film to be almost three hours long. At least twenty minutes could have been cut.
Overall, despite some glaring flaws in the writing, a few lackluster performances and simply being too long, I found “Wicked” to be a heartfelt and whimsical movie musical. It successfully adapts the first half of one of the most famous musicals of all time. I cannot wait for Part Two!
Rating: ★★★★☆
