We saw Wicked on New Year's Eve in the theater. It was excellent. I read the book years and years ago and liked it. The stage show, meh....I think because I read the book first. So when the film came out I was like, "meh". But everyone said it was good so, what the hell, I'll go. Glad I did! The scope and world of the story translates perfectly to the screen. And they are delving further into the source material (hence the two parts - this two hour, fourty-minute film is essentially what would be Act 1 of the stage production). Both leads are fantastic. Ariana Grande proves her worth as a versatile performer. Erivo is splendid as Elphaba - her "Defying Gravity" transition is a stunningly gorgeous few minutes of acting and filmmaking.
We saw it last night, it feels like a worthy rendition to (admittedly very distant in my memory) the first part of the first book as well as spending a lot of time in homage to the musical. Adaptations are never easy to get right, and as I recall the back half of the book had some pacing issues so I'm interested in seeing how they grapple with that. At the same time I hope they don't make the mistake of trying to create a cinematic universe, it's just not something anyone has any appetite for anymore.
Jasper Coussell
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