Wicked

All the movies I've reviewed and rated on Letterboxd have been new experiences for me, so I'm able to judge it objectively. Wicked the musical (WTM), however, has been a familiar favorite since I was in middle school, so I unfortunately can't keep my sentiments aside. However, because I know the original pretty well, I found myself more critical of the adaptation. So without further ado, here are my thoughts on Wicked: Part One (WPO)! Broadway vs. Big ScreenStaged musicals receive a lot of forgiveness for logistics and practical effects since these shows are live and are expected to minimize any digital effects. Seamless transitions are appreciated, but not required. It's normal for the lead to end his or her ballad with a belt and for the lights to cut to black as the audience applauds the performance, acting as a 4th wall transition. There are also other musicals (Les Mis!!) whose transitions are built into the music, with one song moving into another, or into a sung dialogue. With WPO, Jon M. Chu did the best he could with what WTM gave him to work with. HOWEVER, the jarring transition from Elphaba's "The Wizard and I" climax to the immediate cut to Shiz University (I think) was almost disrespectful. Maybe I'm being hypercritical, but I think it should've received more thought. Regardless, no half stars docked for me because I think they did a good job with song to dialogue transitions for the rest of the movie. my opinion about the "Defying Gravity" sequence later! Something BadI DID end up docking 0.5 stars for their inability to address the my plot issues with WTM. I think adaptations have the advantage of "rewriting history" by improving the depth of the original stories. Here are a list of my personal vendettas against WTM: 1. Glinda's superficial character arc. We get mixed signals of her genuineness towards the end of the first act, which is probably the point because of how her ultimate change for good in the second act. None of her experiences felt significant enough to warrant a personality change imo. 2. I don't think there's any realistic reason for Elphaba to lose. She could've rallied the oppressed Animals and supporters (like Fiyero) to fight against the Wizard and the misunderstood beliefs of the public. Maybe it's my overexposure to "the hero always wins" plot lines, but I refuse to believe Elphaba was all alone in her endeavors. 3. Elphaba and Galinda's relationship was superficial. Like I mentioned, musicals have many passes for the sake of fitting an entire storyline with song and dance to balance with a technical structure. Therefore, the pacing and relationship development may be rushed into something like love at first sight (Marius and Cosette). But with WTM, there was no hint or precursor to Galinda's sudden sympathy towards Elphaba at the party. No song lyric, no facial expression, no nothing.  WPO could've invested a bit more time to add in some character and relationship building. Alas, they followed the WTM accurately, which I still respect a lot since most adaptations have been failing to do so.  The Point in the Movie When Something Changed Within MeMy last big chunk of opinion is about the genius behind WPO's marketing and advertisement, specifically their video teasers and BTS junkets. They teased JUST ENOUGH to make us think it was all going to be predictable. Every theater kid has "Defying Gravity" ingrained in their hear- heads, so watching and listening to WPO's rendition made me cry. The second Ariana delivered the "Why couldn't you have stayed calm for once?" line, I KNEW the finale would break me. I think the creative choices in this final song is what made this movie go from good, to great for theater kids as we likely all felt the giddiness and satisfaction we thought we would never be able to re-experience after seeing WTM on Broadway. I was literally sitting up in my seat during the entirety of the finale hoping they would do the song justice - and they did.  Other Miscellaneous Thoughts: • Cynthia Erivo's acting felt inconsistent compared to the rest of the cast. Maybe it was because Elphaba isn't as dramatic or expressive as Glinda (or even Fiyero), but I felt like there could've been more subtle facial expressions to add to her character. • The musical direction of "What is This Feeling?" was perfect. Like many other people, I watch that YouTube clip at least once a day. • I didn't doubt any of the cast's ability to perform and shoot live (except maybe for Michelle Yeoh), but I knew it would all be okay once I saw the first half of "No One Mourns the Wicked". I think I was traumatized by the BTS of the 2012 Les Mis movie whose musical choices were analyzed in this extremely entertaining video here. • Maybeeee it was because I saw the movie in an SM mall in the Philippines, but the audio sounded like it came from a singular Bose sound bar at the very bottom of the screen up until "The Wizard and I". It was extremely distracting and took away from the immersion promised by the creators. I will be rewatching once I get back to the States!• Jonathan Bailey.  My Final Thoughts to Wrap Up This Three-Day Long ReviewOverall, I think WPO is and will continue to be well loved by the general public. The movie has managed to maintain the integrity of the songs and stories, while keeping it fresh for long time supporters of WTM. I usually get pretty gate-keep-y when it comes to media I LOVE that others easily bandwagon onto because of social media, but I guess I'll make an exception for this one. Musicals (especially those I've been blessed enough to see on Broadway) hold a very very special place in my heart. I have deep admiration for the creativity that goes behind each note, lyric, and direction <3