Wicked First Reviews: “Everything a movie musical should be”

On November 20, 2024By Littum

No one will mourn Evil movie, as the Broadway musical adaptation is bound to be a big hit at the box office. The first reviews of The Wizard of Oz the prequel also assures fans that it’s a worthy cinematic treatment, possibly even better than the long-running stage version. They especially applaud the performances of the leads Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. However, there are some complaints about the length of the film, especially considering that it is only part of the whole story. Nevertheless, the film is not only already Certified Fresh, but thanks to early screenings, also Verified Hot!

Here’s what critics are saying about Evil:

How does it compare to the Broadway show?

Bigger and better.
— Sandra Hall, Sydney Morning Herald

The film is still screamingly overcrowded, but gloriously so… Instead of feeling bloated, Evil has found its ideal form.
— Peter Debruge, Variety

Evil will delight fans of the stage production as a faithful adaptation.
— Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times

If you found Evil on stage too girly or frothy for your taste, or too emphatic in its message that difference is a convenient target for rising fascism, you’ll probably feel the same way about the film.
— David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in Wicked (2024)

(Photo by ©Universal Pictures)

Fans of musicals will enjoy it?

Evil may be one of the most beautiful and ambitious movie musicals we’ve seen in years, one to rival some of the best of the old Hollywood era.
— Kristen Lopez, Kristomania

It’s almost everything a movie musical should be.
— Rafer Guzman, Newsday

Unlike several recent tuners that tried to hide their musical dimension from the public, Evil embracing her identity as Elphaba does her emerald green skin. It turns out that such confidence makes all the difference in how they are perceived.
— Peter Debruge, Variety

The filmmakers know exactly what their core audience wants and they deliver big time.
— GDavid Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

**Is that honor The Wizard of Oz?**

It enriches the source material while celebrating the Golden Age of Technicolor MGM musicals, the most important of them all The Wizard of Oz.
— David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

They are doing their best to pay homage to the 1939 film (without getting sued) while creating their own vision.
— Kristen Lopez, Kristomania

Like its predecessor, it’s an imperfect production that has a lot of heart and brains.
— Aisha Harris, NPR

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in Wicked (2024)

(Photo by ©Universal Pictures)

How are the music tracks?

Inventively staged and exuberantly performed… When it comes to big ensemble numbers like “What Is This Feeling?”, “Dancing Through Life” and “One Short Day”, Chu’s more-is-more approach has undeniable power.
— Caroline Siede, Girls culture

There are certain sequences, specifically Galinda’s signature number “Popular” and Fiyero’s “Dancing Through Life,” where everything clicks nicely together and the film suddenly sparks to life.
— Clarisse Loughrey, Independent

They help us buy into the inherent musical conceit that these characters break out into song to express emotions too big for spoken words, not just talk about lyrics and step melodies that someone spent weeks clearing up in a studio. The decision to record the songs live on set whenever possible is a big plus.
— David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

How is Jon M. Chu’s directing?

Chu’s direction is pure magic. Known for his ability to mix epic scale with intimate moments, he balances perfectly Evil’s massive backdrops with its heartfelt story and a knowing tongue in cheek tone.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys

Chu may not be Vincente Minnelli, his busy production numbers occasionally threatening to spiral into chaos, but he figures out what matters most.
— David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

One of Chu’s greatest strengths as a filmmaker is capturing moments when people really see each other, and Evil is full of them.
— Caroline Siede, Girl culture

As in In the HeightsChu excels at timing takes to match the music precisely, treating Schwartz’s music with a refreshing reverence.
— Dan Rubins, Slant Magazine

Chu has done dazzling film musical work before, most recently with 2021’s In the Heightsbut despite the elaborate costuming and production design, Wicked is his least visually imaginative film.
— Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times

Cynthia Erivo in Wicked (2024)

(Photo by ©Universal Pictures)

How does it look?

So many movies these days look like they were shot through mud-smeared lenses, making the brilliant color and light of Evil pleasant in itself.
— David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

Alice Brooks’ films can sometimes offer an exciting sensory overload.
— Dan Rubins, Slant Magazine

Evil looks great, thanks to the combination of VFX and world-building practical sets.
— Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

Although the lighting is oddly murky and dreary throughout – as if they didn’t have time to get it right before they started shooting – the tactical sets and cotton costumes almost make up for it.
— Caroline Siede, Girl culture

Are there any problems with CGI?

Unlike so many films that groan under the weight of CG eyesores, digital technology is used less as a shortcut than as an enhancer or for specific purposes like dropping in talking animal figures and stitching composite images.
— David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

Occasionally, the film contains some CGI issues that are noticeable throughout.
— Brittany Patrice Witherspoon, Pop Culture Reviews

Cynthia Erivo in Wicked (2024)

(Photo by ©Universal Pictures)

How is Cynthia Erivo’s performance?

Evil belongs to Erivo… Her eyes are an expressive window into the character’s lifetime of hurt and exclusion or defiant pride and anger, sometimes over this range and more within a scene or song or single line reading.
— David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

Make no mistake. This is Cynthia Erivo’s movie. What she was able to do with this character on screen is incredible.
— Brittany Patrice Witherspoon, Pop Culture Reviews

Erivo can’t hit the notes without difficulty, but it’s the work she does in close-up, conveying the emotional nuances of Elphaba’s formative years, that sets this performance apart from Menzel’s.
— Peter Debruge, Variety

Erivo is a real revelation here; she delivers a beautifully layered performance with plenty of depth and determination.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys

Erivo offers a slightly astringent sweetness that makes the role feel unusually layered.
— Dan Rubins, Slant Magazine

Erivo is not particularly known for her comedy, and she has good comic timing, especially opposite the bubbly Grande.
— Kristen Lopez, Kristomania

What about Ariana Grande?

It’s Grande who steals the show with a sparkling performance.
— Rafer Guzman, Newsday

Ariana Grande, in a career-defining role, is delightful as the bubbly, ambitious Galinda. Her rendition of “Popular” is the highlight of the entire film.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys

Grande, lovely in her biggest film role to date, deploys that quality with a liberal sprinkling of sugar and appealing comedic instincts.
— David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

A talented impersonator of the Broadway star’s singing style, but a slightly stiffer screen presence… (she) lacks her idol’s killer comedic timing.
— Peter Debruge, Variety

This is not an imitation of Chenoweth’s performance, more of a light homage. On her own merits, Grande does well as the lovably selfish Galinda.
— Kristen Lopez, Kristomania

She’s a pop star still working on her acting style, which at times harkens back to her Nickelodeon roots. It’s sweet and lovely work, but at times lacks the type of subtlety required for film acting, even in a musical role with as much comedy as drama.
— Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in Wicked (2024)

(Photo by ©Universal Pictures)

And when they are together?

Even outside of the song, the pair work best when they’re together. Their love/hate relationship is at the heart of the film and leads to some great bits of physical comedy as the pair try to unite each other.
— Kristen Lopez, Kristomania

Even under the green makeup and against the backdrop of some terribly underwhelming CGI aesthetics, their chemistry is undeniable.
— Aisha Harris, NPR

Are there any other performances that stand out?

The real surprise, even more than Grande, is Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero… (He) has such a light comedic touch to him, and his performance of “Dancing Through Life” might be the best part of the movie.
— Kristen Lopez, Kristomania

Jonathan Bailey steals the show as the vain Prince Fiyero Tigelaar, a love interest for both young witches. Bailey dances and sings effortlessly through the film’s most demanding musical numbers.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys

Bailey is absolutely stunning and magnetic and gives a stellar performance… He lights up the screen.
— Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction

It’s impossible to ignore Jeff Goldblum’s “Jeff Goldblum-ness”, he slips into the role and makes it his own.
— Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

Ariana Grande in Wicked (2024)

Will it make us cry?

(When) Elphaba starts dancing alone and is mocked by her classmates. Broadway audiences laughed at the scene, but here it’s heartbreaking, almost excruciating, as Chu intervenes between the seriousness of Elphaba’s naïve movements and the barely concealed humiliation on her face.
— Peter Debruge, Variety

The scene where Glinda reaches out to Elphaba by mirroring her awkward dance moves at a party might be a tearjerker on stage, but the slow-motion treatment here, as the dance goes on and on, drains it of emotional energy.
— Dan Rubins, Slant Magazine

Do we want to feel the driving time?

The entire running time of this film alone is the running time of the actual Broadway production. And yet it never feels like there’s an ounce of filler.
— Kristen Lopez, Kristomania

Evil benefits of room to breathe.
— Peter Debruge, Variety

There are some moments that drag, some scenes that seem superfluous.
— Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

On the screen, Evil feels self-consciously extended as it extends beyond the exoskeleton of the musical, as if the idea of making a longer film preceded the plan for what to do with all the extra minutes.
— Dan Rubins, Slant Magazine

Poster art for Wicked (2024)

Does it feel like half a movie?

It feels like a satisfying whole in the way you can enjoy The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring as a standalone adventure, even if it ends on a cliffhanger tease for a larger epic.
— Caroline Siede, Girl culture

It manages to stand alone far better than many multi-episode sagas… It helps that the film doesn’t end on a cliffhanger so much as Elphaba’s embrace of her full potential, à la Dune: Part One.
— Peter Debruge, Variety

Little substance was added to justify making this affair a two-parter.
— Aisha Harris, NPR

Is it a must-see for the whole family?

Evil is a wonderful old-fashioned movie musical suitable for all but the very youngest viewers. (Those monkeys have always been scary.)
— Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

Be ready for kids to jump a few times and prepare them that this is only the first part of Galinda and Elphaba’s story.
— Betsy Bozdech, Common Sense Media

92%

Evil
(2024)
opens in theaters on November 22, 2024.

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