Film / Reviews

Wicked the musical (Part one) – Review

Calling all StageSiders!!! Welcome back to another review here at StageSideUK, this time a review of a musical film, and one I know we have all waited so long to see! Wicked the movie came out at the end of last week and wow! So settle in and lets review Wicked (part one).

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Wicked (part one) begins with the end of the Wicked Witch of the West. Elphaba is no more than a puddle on the floor, and the munchkins are more than ok with that. After a strange sacrificial burning of a wicker witch, and some dancing, the citizens of Munchkin land quiz Galinda on her relationship with Elphaba.

We are then shown how the green-skinned witch came to be, where her powers stem from and how her relationships at home act as a foundation for the rest of her life in the film. Moving to Shiz University, with the sole purpose to protect and care for Nessa Rose (her sister who is a wheelchair user), Elphaba is introduced to Galinda, Fiyero and a whole host of Uni mates.

Firstly, we have to say what a job the production team have done. From creating buildings and planting thousands of plants, the creative team behind this production have put blood, sweat and tears into this movie. There is not one moment that seems dull or one location that seems under dressed. The costumes are gorgeous! The acting is particularly impressive and the choreography is excellent.

I will start with THE negative, yes just one, and that is the music seems a bit off for me.

Now I don’t mean the new arrangements/embellishments that have been put into the film, but the actual sound quality. I saw this in a large screen cinema, with surround sound and we were sat centrally. I just thought the sound was quite muted and dampened. The score didn’t have that Wicked flourish that I was expecting it to have. The overwhelming moments in the live show were tamed in the movie. And then there is the diction, that makes Galinda (though precious about how you say her name) almost inaudible/unintelligible in the film. There were other moments too, such as Sentimental Man that have just lost their showbiz charm and I feel like the music should have been a huge focus for the show.

Now this could well be the theatres sound system, it could be 101 different things, and so I am going to go to a different cinema to see the film again, but at the time of writing this, the sound was really low quality for what I had expected.

Now onto the positives, which I will have to trim down because there are just too many.

Can we just take a minute to reflect on the beauty of this film! The tulip fields, which featured thousands of tulip plants… The wizards palace!! I mean, even the hallway in the dormitories! Every single detail was intentionally placed.

I loved how there was a glass pane out side of Galindas room, so she could have that little vain flirt with herself at the end of Popular. Though I do feel like the relationship between Elphie and Galinda was rushed into. In the live show there seems to be more cattiness, or coldness, between the two. Even Popular, in the live show, seems quite nasty. But in the film Popular seems really sweet and relaxed, and from that point on they are best friends, even though Galina just pulled the nastiest trick on Elphie.

I really enjoyed The Wizard and I and how over it Elphaba was with the staring and looks her class mates gave her.

I loved the dance sequence in What Is This Feeling!

Now obviously we know these actors and creatives know what they are doing, they’re really well known for being in theatre or film or television or even music production. But they really did knock it out of the park with this film.

Yes it appeals to a certain demographic, and the theatre nerds and the musical fans will particularly love it, but I think non-theatre fans will also find alot to love in this film.

I hope part one is an indicator of what we can expect from part 2. Some of my favourite numbers and plot points happen in part 2, and so I can not wait for next year!

Have your say!

Have you seen the Wicked the musical movie part one? What did you think? Let me know in the comments and let’s get a discussion going.

As always, please be respectful of each other’s opinions and be kind to each other. I completely respect and value everyone that worked on this movie. We need to remember that these are people with feelings. Let’s treat them with respect. Bullying will not be tolerated and harmful language will be removed. 

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