Those who know me will know how much I love going to the theatre, and Wicked is one of my favourite theatre productions… However, I was not excited for the movie…
I have to say, the movie lived up to my expectations… meaning I felt it to be quite poor. Now before I slate the movie, I do want to say that if you have not seen Wicked in the theatre, you may very much enjoy the film! But if you are a theatre lover, it may not be for you.
I felt that Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey, who played Elphaba and Fiyero, were brilliant in their roles. However, casting Arianna Grande was a mistake in my opinion. The acting just was not there for me at all. It felt like they were trying to make the film feel like a theatre show rather it being a recreation in the form of a movie… and it landed flat. The acting, especially from Arianna’s part, had me cringing in my seat throughout and I just could not oversee it.
With the technology that we have today, I also thought the Munchkins in the film would have been a lot better too! They were just normal people. If they can turn Hugh Grant into a Oompa Loompa for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, surely we could have had better looking Munchkins for Wicked… Or did they spend all their budget on their casting choices?
And did they really need to split the movie into two parts (or more)? I feel as though 2 hours and 40 minutes was more than enough time to tell this story (maybe three hours tops)
I will go and see the second part, as I have invested this much time in it already, I may as well see it through! Though I can’t imagine it to get much better and I dread to know what they will be padding out the movie with… extra unnecessary scenes? New songs? A full recreation of The Wizard of Oz?
Overall, I think this movie has been well and truly over-hyped.
It is not the worst movie I have ever seen, and had I not been such a huge lover of the theatre production, maybe I would have even liked it! But I do not think it lives up to the incredible hype that has surrounded it in the media and through marketing.
Maybe I will not be so pop-u-lar after this!
