Wicked

Theme: Treat people who are different than you kindly, despite everyone else saying otherwise. Tension: Will the two become friends? Will she see the wizard? Will her skin no longer be green? Will they catch her? Will she turn evil? Will she die? Will Glinda betray her? Writing: I was worried that this would be more like a play than a screenplay but I'm glad they capitalized on their medium. I think they could properly justify splitting the film into two parts because of it. The only part I didn't like with the writing was the end, it felt a little too broadway-esque rather than narrative driven--I felt like I was watching the same scene over and over again as she kept flying back to say one more thing to them. Felt like the plot came to a halt a little. Also with knocking that door down and having whole musical numbers in between, I don't feel like time justification was possible for that because they didn't establish it before. The writers did a great job of adding little pieces to the wicked witch we already know little by little, prop by prop. The moment where she saw the child version of herself while falling was also really cool and implied a lot about how she could best learn to harness her power. Acting: I've personally disliked Ariana Grande for a while so I was skeptical about her going in, but she really leaned into that annoying character in an amazing way. So did Cynthia (last name can't remember). Their characters contrasted each other very well with their little subtleties. I think that's what makes certain parts stronger on film, is being able to see the tiny little things like how their facial expression slightly change, how they react, tiny movements. Also choreography was amazing, it really stuck out to me in What is This Feeling with Glinda having her little army behind her and Dancing through Life with book-surfing and the moving libraries. Also One Short Day would be so hard to do with that many people, and it looked like they did quite a bit of long shots. Jeff Goldblum was also phenomenal, I could feel like he knew his character really well and his little quirks and the way he spoke. Very charismatic while trying to hide stupidity. I had mixed feelings about the awkward dance in the middle of the ball, but there were so many complex and conflicting feelings that I was able to just buy into the moment. Cinematography: Lots of beautiful shots with the set design, some great oners throughout the musical numbers. Movement definitely stuck out. It's hard to remember it all now, but I know I had more thoughts in the theater. It was engaging, it was colorful, things looked nice, the only part that was rocky was Glinda and her bedroom being a bit overexposed. I could see the screen in the theater because of how white it was. Also how well they covered the Elixir mister in the beginning was impressive while just giving a tiny hint of him. Sound: Music was fantastic, honored the original well. Took appropriate moments to pause like in the song popular when Glinda examines Alpheba. Also incorporated diegetic sounds in the music I believe. HMU/Costume: I don't know how actors can have that much makeup on that long, it's crazy. I would go mad but she pulled it off. Costumes were awesome, there were a few times like maybe before the ball where I felt like some outfits weren't paying homage to the tone with Glinda's weird fiery flower outfit. But I think they wanted something new which was fine and worked. Set Design/FX: Shiz had a very Venice/Greece like feel to it which was cool, and Oz had more of a New York vibe. I believed all of the effects, nothing screamed CGI which was good. Editing: When there was high tension the editing became faster with more variety in shots, like the guards taking down the door and seeing them from above. Also great Oklahoma-like opening title and end card.