Act 2 of the musical is usually criticized for moving too quickly and just generally being a quick retelling of The Wizard of Oz but from different perspectives. If they can flesh that part out more it could justify splitting the movie in 2.
The movie tells you it's a Part 1 at the start of the movie. So you accept the fact that there's going to be another movie as you watch this movie. By the end, you'll enjoy it as a part one and be hyped for the next part.
@@Erasureeraser They didn’t know if it would have a sequel and tbh it was part 1 of like 16. Wayyyyy different than something based off a play where at intermission they say “Sike! Time to go home now” And yes I used sike in 2024
As someone who went into this having seen the play- this is the closest broadway adaptation to movie I've ever seen. With a few additions as exceptions, it was word for word, the exact lines and everything from the play. No changing random things for no reason. Adding in new storyline. Changing or adding songs. It was completely true to the source. I had one gripe with popular as I think arianna took a few creative liberties in that song that were very Ariana grande and I wasn't a fan, but other than that both actresses played the part how they were supposed to be played super well
It would have been nicer if they got another singer to be Glinda, especially an even better one, but they probably went with the El Grande Ariane because she's Popular
@inlinechris there's more cut scenes and pauses. Not much additional lines or words but it's more cinematic and slow paces vs a broadway play that jumps around alittle more
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Totally valid to not like they split into part 1 and part 2 but I think once they were committed to keeping every song, it was truly the only way. 1:1 putting a musical into a movie just can’t work. You need more establishing shots, musical book scenes are always so short and need to be buffed out in a movie to not feel rushed. Especially since criticism of the wicked stage show is that the book scenes are already rushed as it is in Act 2.
I don't personally give a fuck if it goes into part 10, they need to say that during their advertisement. Not wait till people are sitting down "Oh by the way, you only paid for half of this story"
@@ReviewsOnReelsbecause those are shorter musicals even on stage. Wicked as a stage production is incredibly fast. To try to fit both acts into one movie would feel like you’re watching something at 2x speed. Having just seen the movie it was the right call. Pacing was great and ended in a perfect spot. Every scene and song had enough room to breathe.
yeah I'm pretty sure the 1st act is everything up until the main story of The Wizard of Oz starts and then the 2nd act is a reimaging of the events from the The Wizard of Oz.
I'm not an Ariana Grande fan in the slightest, but I thought she was fantastic in this movie. Great cast performances and choreography. Only thing I wasn't a fan of was the color grading/lighting during several scenes.
@@themanstan0785 because there are a lot of people who are not fans of her and are on the fence about seeing this movie because of her casting. The fact that her performance is so good that non-fans can easily get past that should be noted.
This was a movie that catered itself to being two parts tbh. The first and second acts of the broadway show are very distinct with major time jumps, separating them out makes more sense in giving the plot and characters more depth while letting the notoriously fast paced 2nd act slow down a bit, not feeling a need to rush over all the plot points in The Wizard of Oz, when the 2nd act primarily takes place
yeah but then they should of waited for second part to be done, had the two movies ready to go, have only few months a part instead of waiting year or two
@ they filmed them back to back though, like Lord of the Rings. Part 2 comes out next year, same time. It’s the beauty of doing that, can just do an annual release.
@kyotheman69 Dune part 2 came out years after part one. End game came a year after infinity war. Not saying this is either of those two, but my point is that it has been done before and works
The biggest problem with this film is it’s not a 90s action film about Toto with a mini gun getting revenge on the Flying monkeys for killing his family of Scottish terriers.
@IanFleming808 ok I take that back. I can't stand musicals but this movie is still one of the best movies I've ever seen. The 2 lead actresses need to be up for an award because they were phenomenal. I didn't even notice the singing because this movie was so good.
Surprised this wasn't mentioned in the review at all, but Cynthia Erivo was fantastic in this. Both the acting and singing side of it, she really nailed it.
I gasped when I saw “Part 1” (mind you I haven’t been following much promo) but my skepticism wore off because the intro set the story up quite nicely. Overall, I enjoyed it.
The only reason I don't get it is because I've no idea what they could possibly do for another 2 and a half hours, unless it's just a retelling of the classic story with Dorothy.
@@LuznoLindo Act 2 of the musical is quite rushed. And in theatre it works because the suspention of disbelief is greater but in a movie I think a lot of the elements would come off as out of nowhere. So I think they will develop the relationships and characters more.
@@LuznoLindo There's soooo much story left. Without ruining anything. Act One / Movie One is the characters in college Act Two/ Movie Two is the characters in their adult lives and how they become the iconic Wizard of Oz characters we all love. It's soo much left to tell.
Someone online explained that it was because they were worried people wouldn't see it immediately if they knew it wasn't the whole story. They were drooping people into thinking it was the entire story. It's a good film, but that still annoys me after seeing it.
For me, yes and no. It could be a complete story but the movie tells you at the start and reminds you in the end that its not complete. If they intend casual viewers to see the sequel, they need it to be a hit now so they can remind the audience later. Im curious now what the marketing title will be for the sequel.
@@geopadilla1455 This could easily be a hit, everybody seemed to be loving it so far so it's going to do just fine. Even if it flops (which is unlikely), we're still getting Part 2 next year, I mean look at Mission Impossible
@@ErasureeraserThough we shouldnt ignore the sheer amount of people thats not going to watch it if they advertised it as 2 parts from the get go. Easily a few millions of dollars more.
I feel like they definitely needed to make it 2 parts, the pacing and structure of a musical is much different than a movie, if they decided to adapt the 2.5 hour musical into a 2.5 hour movie it would have felt EXTREMELY rushed, considering how much goes on in the musical, a 2 part movie was definitely the way to go.
@@SeraphsWitness I can already tell you have never seen wicked the play. Tonnes of arcs and plotlines are skipped over or made to be assumed by the audience because of the medium that would never work in a movie. It would have felt jarring. They filled in all the right places that needed to be with this movie.
@@SeraphsWitness I'm saying the play does not the movie. Things work in theatre that don't work in movies. You have to fill in those gaps for a movie that's why it's longer.
Jon M. Chu's last two feature movies were Crazy Rich Asians and In The Heights. These two alone convinced me enough that Wicked has every opportunity to be great in his directing hands. If James Wan was born to make horror movies, Chu was born to make musicals
Let me tell you. I was blown away by Ariana grande performance. I literally had to google the movie on my phone while watching in the theater to make sure it was really her acting 😂
This was my first time experiencing Wicked in any form. I've heard good things about it, I've heard most of the song but I never able to see the whole production so with this movie being anticipated for over 20 years and turned out to be fantastic, I'm forever grateful to all the cast and crew for their incredible hardwork. Thank you for bringing Wicked to the whole world in the big screen ❤️
Agreed with everything here except the part one/part two breakup. Being an adaptation from Broadway, Broadway plays always have an intermission halfway through. Without expecting that, I can understand why this would be foreign and potentially disappointing. After the broadway intermission, that takes usually 15 minutes or so, you can continue the story and finish it by the end of the night. We can’t do that here until the second portion is released. Go see it, as a Broadway fan, I really appreciated this film.
They wanted a faithful adaptation at the risk of not knowing if casual fans like me would be on board just watching half of the story now. Would I be back a year later to see where this goes? Probably yes but for the rest, only a huge box office hit would bring them back for the sequel. So hopefully, the same magic it had in the stage for 20 years would rub off in the movie.
@@geopadilla1455they should remove Cynthia as Elphaba. She doesn't have the quirks of the character and her voice is not that witchy. She doesn't feel genuine to the character. It's like just a girl with green skin. When in the books, Elphaba is really quirky and awkward.
When you move your hands fast, there is no motion blur. How do you do that? Are you using a very fast shutter speed and a ton of light? Presumably you use progressive and not interlaced video format.
Saw it last night. Was never bored! Singing, acting, cinematography, special effects all top notch. I don't like how it doesn't line up with the original Wizard of Oz though.
I think some of it is from the original Wizard of Oz books. Some. Not a lot. But some. Except I’ve only read the Wicked book and never seen the musical, so I could also be wrong…
It does in Part II. It ties in Dorothy when she arrives in Oz and the Wicked witch’s demise, as well as, the cowardly lion and Tin Man and their motivations for disliking Elphaba. The scarecrow is the only character whose story arc doesn’t align with the original story.
@@iseewoodHi. In Oz there are 2 good and two wicked witches. In Wicked there is only 1 good and wicked. Or am I missing something? Also where are the tiny munchkins?
@@dean2663 I don’t know about the original books, but the original movie had the Good Witch of the North (Glinda), the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba) and the Wicked Witch of the East (to be revealed in part II). Elphaba and Nessa Rose’s father is the king of Munchinland, mentioned fleetingly. Bach, Nessa Rose’s love interest is a Munchkin, but for the movie (and stage play) they are not played by Little People like in the original movie. I don’t know why, but my guess is that in the stage play, because the actors sing and take on multiple roles, it was easier to cast.
It's just curious how Ariana became such a controversial character that every time someone praises her in this movie they have to preface it like "hey idk her that well" lmao
It's the light, because Hollywood fired all their good light technicians when CG came in. Now they are trying to hire them back, but they are either retired or have changed vocation.
@@ThereIsAlwaysaWay2 Ok so you know nothing about film or you messed up what CG means or I don't know what you mean by CG. When you use CG (computer graphics is what I am assuming) you REQUIRE high quality lighting and lighting reference so you can do proper matching of your shaders and CG lighting, etc.
@@eduardomartin8510Lighting in a computer program is vastly different from practical lighting. Maybe he meant the old school cinamatographers who mastered real set lighting
I disagree about it feeling like just set up. The way it starts kinda puts a bow on the story so that it feels like yes we got a part 1 of 2, but part one was a complete story all to itself. Still too long, but I left feeling pretty satisfied.
Just got back from seeing it - to me it was an incredible movie. Wow... Cynthia and Ariana were fantastic chemistry. Acting on point. The musical sequences were excellent. Costumes, common now beautiful. Jeff Goldbloom was a perfect choice (imo) for OZ. I had such a good time appreciating each scene and moment. So goooood!!!!
I liked Wicked. I agree with your rating. After having seen the musical, I really felt like it was true to the script in most parts. The music was fantastic and I loved the characters. I'll for sure see part II.
Best movie I've seen in a long time. I was on tour with Wicked for 2 years ive seen actresses come and go and Cynthia is Elfiba. Just like ledger and Nickelson are the joker there is no other Elfiba.
Props for bringing Return to Oz into the discussion. I loved, and was terrified by, that movie as a kid, and it's rare as an adult to encounter anyone who has even heard of it. Also, go see Wicked you guys, ur gonna get served.
I know there's no continuity, but imagine watching Oz: The Great and Powerful, Wicked 1&2, The Wizard of Oz, and Return to Oz all in one sitting. Edit: I should clarify, the reason I'm saying this is because the films are all so different in terms of style, tone, and overall quality. It would be an interesting experience to see them all in a row.
Wicked was NOT written by original author from 1900 it's a modern day abomination and doesn't fit it at all with OZ Great and Powerful Wizard of OZ or Return to OZ. It's a stain on the original ip.
I don't really see the point in it when this is a foregone conclusion. No matter how much you humanize her, the Wicked Witch of the West is ultimately going to perish via bucket of water.
Holy shit, I loved the Incarnations of Immortality books! At least, I did in middle school.... But hopefully they hold up! Arguably, you could say On a Pale Horse did it first, as lots of people look at the Grim Reaper as a scary/evil.
Take it from someone who has seen the play as I do enjoy artsy things, this has stretched my imagination of what I thought this was going to be. The play has excellent storytelling through song because it’s on a stage and I feel like the set pieces in the movie actually did not take away from the songs which still tells a very thorough story.
When I learned years ago they were splitting this into two movies I was the biggest critic of that, but I saw it last night and it worked. That was one of the best musical adaptations in a long time and it never felt padded
Slow burn but still fast paced is exactly how the book can be described. I remember reading it around 10 years ago thinking the whole time "ok when does it get good?" And then when I finished it finally realizing I had enjoyed it as a whole.
Jeremy; I know you probably won’t see this but I just want to tell you I have been watching you since I was 12 and now I am 28 and I am pursuing my own career and film journalism. I’ll do reviews for a magazine and from my own website and I just want to say thank you for everything you have done for me and so many other film lovers over the years
So I'd like to pose a question to general non musical watchers who have seen it. Minor spoilers follow. Was it obvious who the dude was in the flashbacks? It's kinda crucial to the story and I didn't know if it was super obvious to just me. I don't think it's intended to be!
I recently read the book not having seen the play thinking the play and book would be similar…..wrong…..the book is WAAAYYY too adult and not plot heavy at all. Super weird because I’d read the first 7 Oz books and they were all kids books. Wicked got dark extremely quick. I hear the play is amazing tho. This movie looks good.
I'm surprised the book had so many groomer like scenes: the author having a prepubescent girl "suck orange juice" off a soldiers finger while sitting in his lap, and then when she's about 13 cleaning the soldiers rooms and taking off her clothes and fantasizing what it would be like to be caught by them.
Seeing everyone like this movie is so satisfying, because people have been criticizing it for ages before it even released, so it being good is so cathartic.
@@invertedLOL The Hollywood Mafia/ Cartel. All these Nerds bitching about "woke" Woke" woke" actually didn't do Hollywood any favours internationally. Since Netflix is a globalized streaming network it introduced global audiences to stuff like K-Dramas and Spanish and Nigerian film that foreigners had no access to. People all over the globe have options and Western movies are not interesting to anybody outside USA.
I first saw Wicked in 2015 on Broadway, and I instantly fell in love with it. It is undeniably one of the greatest shows of all time. I just saw the movie, and I thought it was as close to a perfect adaptation of the play as it could possibly be. I think they did the show justice and it was a very faithful adaptation. It was positively gorgeous and I cried at the end. The end of the movie, being the end of Act One of the stage play. Personally, it didn't feel like they dragged it out that much or added filler to purposefully make it go longer just so they had an excuse to make a sequel. So at the end of the movie I was thinking back and questioning my memory, like, did the first really feel that long? Idk. But I actually thought it was a good choice to split up the two acts into separate movies.
Since I never saw the musical on stage, I wasn't quite sure what to expect but this turned out to be a really exhilarating experience. I also saw it in 3D and they made good use of that. The costumes, the production design and the cinematography are all exceptional and the songs are upbeat with fun production numbers. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are both excellent and deserve Oscar nominations! I knew Cynthia would be great but the real.revelation is Ariana because I wasn't familiar with her very much as a singer and she makes a perfect Glinda. There is so much going on this movie and it's so well made that I was still thinking about it the next day. I'm planning to see it again next week!
Broadway 101: Have a big bang song to end Act 1… Wicked the Movie Part 1 did exactly that just like the Broadway musical. So, your gut instinct was spot on! BTW, continuing with the Broadway 101 theme, expect an “11th hour” song, followed by a bit of a decrescendo leading to the finale. I personally cannot wait for Part 2!
Good for you for being able to appreciate a movie that most people will dismiss as being for women (it's actually not, plenty of regular straight guys enjoyed the stage show) if its quality deserves it. It's refreshing to find male RUclips reviewers who don't just knee-jerk reject a musical or whatever they think a "women's movie" is and can acknowledge when a movie is good, it's good, period.
You’re definitely right in that us theater geeks know where the story is going and it’s definitely worth it. I kind of wish it were one movie too, but the payoff is great.
This movie is really the act one of the play bit by bit but the songs are more well realized and dynamic. The only real padding or expansion per say it's Elphaba's childhood which are very short scenes, the Madam Morrible's spell lessons which are also very short and the subplot of the animals is expanded upon and given much needed time on top of new scenes entirely. I think the animals subplot will take center stage in the second movie because the play somewhat overlook it in act II but it's a big part of the book and I think they'll bring proper closure in movie part II. But that's pretty much it.
Never watched your vids before, but for that Blood Omen reference, you sir get a like and a subscribe. The movie definitely hits harder as someone who's seen the play. That whole intro sequence where they were cheering about the witch being dead was rough. Also, Return to Oz is creepy as hell and I love it!
As a fan of the musical I'm not to happy about the bloat that's been added however I am more glad they're doing the WHOLE thing even if it takes 2 parts. So many of these adaptations cut huge chunks of the show.
I understand it’s a musical and fans are excited,but me being a neutral wanted to see this as a film. People at my theater took this opportunity for a sing along karaoke and made the film unbearable and made it seem longer than what it was. Don’t be that person.
Musical or not, it sounds like people have forgotten movie etiquette. If you wanna sing along, go do it at home, not in a room where other people paid for their tickets.
This movie has a full story arc and the ending was spectacular. Didn’t feel cut short like the end of Dune Part 1. You leave the theatre on a high and you’re amped for part 2
I honestly didn’t know it was gonna be just a part one but was not even upset about it cause honestly it felt like such a satisfying ending still. It’s kinda impressive how they did it Very much looking forward to part 2!
Oh, Jeremy! You're missing out. It's my top 2 all-time favorite Broadway musical ever, 2nd only to _Rent_ . I've also read the book, which is so much darker than the musical that was adopted from it. All the songs are catchy, IMO. "Defying Gravity," "For Good," and "As Long As You're Mine" are my faves.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes How do you measure, measure a year? You got seasons of love stuck in my head again.
@@Allmightyimortal LOL! Don't even get me started on Rent. I love that musical so much, I saw 3 or 4 versions of it. But the OG cast is still the best. Cheers!
Here's a shocker for those who don't know, Ariana Grande was an actor before she made music. If she's a standout in this, you shouldn't really be all that surprised. She was effing great on the show Victorious.
I was on the fence on this movie because I dislike Arianna and Cynthia most recent blasphemous comment about the fan made poster and controversies following them. I saw the movie. I was hesitant I went to a 4 PM showing… I sat in my seat. I watched and waited for the movie to grab me. All I saw was Arianna and then the ball dance scene happened, the witches hat, Galenda in shock after seeing what she’s done, and Cynthia putting herself out there waiting to be embraced. The tears. It was that moment in the movie finally that allowed me to see Elfiba and Galinda. I enjoyed the movie. I read the book but I forgot everything I need to find a book right now!
I didn’t watch it because anytime a big Hollywood corporate media company makes a movie. I like to watch a videos about how bad they’re failing it brings me comfort.
Act 2 of the musical is usually criticized for moving too quickly and just generally being a quick retelling of The Wizard of Oz but from different perspectives. If they can flesh that part out more it could justify splitting the movie in 2.
You sound sped but ok
Exactly!! Also, Wicked Part 1 still felt like a complete story to me which is how it should be done.
Wicked Part 3 incoming
Exactly, I think it was smart in the long run that way they can carefully fix the flaws in the second half of the play
stfu until you at least see Part 1
Speaking of Oz…Review Penguin.
👍
Smooth😎
100%. That show is awesome.
Speaking of oz....it fricken triggered me that they called his oz cobb.
Yesss!
This biggest mistake is marketing this movie without letting people know it’s a two part movie. It’s going to piss a lot of people off.
Dune didn't marketed the movie as a Part 1 and it was still very successful and acclaimed by everyone
And miss out on those tricked audience members who already paid?
The movie tells you it's a Part 1 at the start of the movie. So you accept the fact that there's going to be another movie as you watch this movie. By the end, you'll enjoy it as a part one and be hyped for the next part.
@@Erasureeraser They didn’t know if it would have a sequel and tbh it was part 1 of like 16. Wayyyyy different than something based off a play where at intermission they say “Sike! Time to go home now”
And yes I used sike in 2024
@@abbeyBominable123just because you don’t know , doesn’t mean it’s true
As someone who went into this having seen the play- this is the closest broadway adaptation to movie I've ever seen. With a few additions as exceptions, it was word for word, the exact lines and everything from the play. No changing random things for no reason. Adding in new storyline. Changing or adding songs. It was completely true to the source. I had one gripe with popular as I think arianna took a few creative liberties in that song that were very Ariana grande and I wasn't a fan, but other than that both actresses played the part how they were supposed to be played super well
I went in nervous. I’m happy.
Then how the fuck is it twice as long if no significant additions?
It would have been nicer if they got another singer to be Glinda, especially an even better one, but they probably went with the El Grande Ariane because she's Popular
@inlinechris there's more cut scenes and pauses. Not much additional lines or words but it's more cinematic and slow paces vs a broadway play that jumps around alittle more
@@MegaKnight2012 honestly she did really good. I really had few complaints about her
We all know it's leading up to Dorothy throwing a bucket of water.
Your proud ignorance is fascinating.
But they arent wrong. Book and musical two different things though
(Heck, it STARTS there)
@@spacejesus570 He's not wrong though
The water is propaganda
don't cover her eyes on a poster whatever you do.
John Locke: "DON'T TELL ME WHAT I CAN'T DO!"
@@JasonTheOneAndOnly should try covering her face
Don't mess with the Wicked Witch of the West.
Goes to show just how LITTLE research she did for this role. Lazy and egomaniacal
That's okay, I'll cover her whole face instead.
Or change her face to Shrek with AI!
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Totally valid to not like they split into part 1 and part 2 but I think once they were committed to keeping every song, it was truly the only way. 1:1 putting a musical into a movie just can’t work. You need more establishing shots, musical book scenes are always so short and need to be buffed out in a movie to not feel rushed. Especially since criticism of the wicked stage show is that the book scenes are already rushed as it is in Act 2.
I don't personally give a fuck if it goes into part 10, they need to say that during their advertisement. Not wait till people are sitting down "Oh by the way, you only paid for half of this story"
@Kanoog They did that on purpose tho.
Les Miserables, Sound of Music, Hairspray and many more tell way more story in only one film. I don't see why this couldn't
Then don’t see it. Many of the fans are happy they’re taking the time develop it more. Part Two will add two new songs.
@@ReviewsOnReelsbecause those are shorter musicals even on stage. Wicked as a stage production is incredibly fast. To try to fit both acts into one movie would feel like you’re watching something at 2x speed.
Having just seen the movie it was the right call. Pacing was great and ended in a perfect spot. Every scene and song had enough room to breathe.
Knowing nothing about the play nor this movie per se, my first thought was "the FUCK you mean part ONE?!"
The original play is almost 3 hours. The movie is also about 3 hours. How are they gonna fit an entire second play??
@@AHersheyHere yes that’s what I said
The movie ends at the plays intermission so, there is definitely enough for a full second movie.
yeah I'm pretty sure the 1st act is everything up until the main story of The Wizard of Oz starts and then the 2nd act is a reimaging of the events from the The Wizard of Oz.
@@SlickA10Homepage There wasn't two acts in the original play? I hear the second movie it's about the second act.
I loved it. Cant wait for part Two
Same ❤. Omg
Both the leads were so strong in this. Neither outshone the other they complimented one another perfectly. Part one was a really great adaption
I guess Joker didn't count as a musical lol
Hardly counts as a movie
joker 2 didn't count as a movie!
HUSH! We don’t talk about that one
I think he meant he enjoys one a year. He didn't enjoy Joker 2.
It wasn't advertised as one. You just get ambushed.
Galinda is Wicked canon. She shortens it to Glinda upon officially becoming the Good Witch.
No she shortened it to Glinda in the film, long before she becomes a witch.
Didn’t she shorten her name to Glinda for Feyro, or whatever his name was?
She shortened her name after the murder of a goat professor that pronounced her name Glinda. She says "Ga-lin-da" the way Hermoine says "Le-vi-oh-sah"
@@Detroit_Dawgit's the same in the musical.
It's supposed to be the wicked witch not the "good witch"
The “I didn’t know GUUUlenda” took me the hell out 😂
Thank you so much for being so good at reviewing films while being so mindful of never spoiling anything.
I love how you explain exactly what I need to know without spoiling the movie 🤙🏽
I'm not an Ariana Grande fan in the slightest, but I thought she was fantastic in this movie. Great cast performances and choreography. Only thing I wasn't a fan of was the color grading/lighting during several scenes.
why did you have to clarify that you weren’t a fan. Your statement is just better without “i’m not a an Ariana Grande fan in the slightest”
It shows that they're not biased @@themanstan0785
She was a child actor so she does know how to act
@@themanstan0785sssssh. Let people have opinions
@@themanstan0785 because there are a lot of people who are not fans of her and are on the fence about seeing this movie because of her casting. The fact that her performance is so good that non-fans can easily get past that should be noted.
Watching jeremy jahn reviews for movies I'll never watch is TIGHT!!!
Oh wow, wow wowo wow oh ....wow!
Hear me out… watch the movie too!
Super easy…
Barely an inconvenience.
Oh, whoops!
This was a movie that catered itself to being two parts tbh. The first and second acts of the broadway show are very distinct with major time jumps, separating them out makes more sense in giving the plot and characters more depth while letting the notoriously fast paced 2nd act slow down a bit, not feeling a need to rush over all the plot points in The Wizard of Oz, when the 2nd act primarily takes place
yeah but then they should of waited for second part to be done, had the two movies ready to go, have only few months a part instead of waiting year or two
@ they filmed them back to back though, like Lord of the Rings. Part 2 comes out next year, same time. It’s the beauty of doing that, can just do an annual release.
@kyotheman69 Dune part 2 came out years after part one. End game came a year after infinity war. Not saying this is either of those two, but my point is that it has been done before and works
@@kyotheman69it’s done already.. do you know how production and release dates work?
I also can't see Defying Gravity being in the middle of a movie version. It's such a perfect finale/cliffhanger number
The biggest problem with this film is it’s not a 90s action film about Toto with a mini gun getting revenge on the Flying monkeys for killing his family of Scottish terriers.
thats a better storyline lol so make that movie now !
I'll take that over people just breaking out singing in the middle of a serious scene. I'll wait till video where I can fast forward the circus acts.
And … we had to have the PC Casting ..
Shocker
Well, doggone it, now I really want to see it, and honestly sounds fitting with the dark tone of the original Oz books
@IanFleming808 ok I take that back. I can't stand musicals but this movie is still one of the best movies I've ever seen. The 2 lead actresses need to be up for an award because they were phenomenal. I didn't even notice the singing because this movie was so good.
Surprised this wasn't mentioned in the review at all, but Cynthia Erivo was fantastic in this.
Both the acting and singing side of it, she really nailed it.
I gasped when I saw “Part 1” (mind you I haven’t been following much promo) but my skepticism wore off because the intro set the story up quite nicely. Overall, I enjoyed it.
The only reason I don't get it is because I've no idea what they could possibly do for another 2 and a half hours, unless it's just a retelling of the classic story with Dorothy.
@@LuznoLindo Act 2 of the musical is quite rushed. And in theatre it works because the suspention of disbelief is greater but in a movie I think a lot of the elements would come off as out of nowhere. So I think they will develop the relationships and characters more.
@@LuznoLindo
There's soooo much story left. Without ruining anything.
Act One / Movie One is the characters in college
Act Two/ Movie Two is the characters in their adult lives and how they become the iconic Wizard of Oz characters we all love. It's soo much left to tell.
Someone online explained that it was because they were worried people wouldn't see it immediately if they knew it wasn't the whole story. They were drooping people into thinking it was the entire story.
It's a good film, but that still annoys me after seeing it.
@@rikkusMakes sense 😃
Surprisingly, I didn't mind that it was part 1. It still felt like a complete story which is how it should be done.
For me, yes and no. It could be a complete story but the movie tells you at the start and reminds you in the end that its not complete. If they intend casual viewers to see the sequel, they need it to be a hit now so they can remind the audience later. Im curious now what the marketing title will be for the sequel.
@@geopadilla1455 This could easily be a hit, everybody seemed to be loving it so far so it's going to do just fine. Even if it flops (which is unlikely), we're still getting Part 2 next year, I mean look at Mission Impossible
@@ErasureeraserThough we shouldnt ignore the sheer amount of people thats not going to watch it if they advertised it as 2 parts from the get go. Easily a few millions of dollars more.
Me before watching the video...." Is This Man Smiling!?"
😂 me too! I was like..how?
Well the film is good...
Great film adaptation. If you had never seen musical now you will want to do so. They did not film a play, but created a movie spectacle.
Not a musical guy AT ALL, and this was amazing!
Fabulous AND amazing sung with such high praise are both words spoken by the typical "musical guy", just saying.
I feel like they definitely needed to make it 2 parts, the pacing and structure of a musical is much different than a movie, if they decided to adapt the 2.5 hour musical into a 2.5 hour movie it would have felt EXTREMELY rushed, considering how much goes on in the musical, a 2 part movie was definitely the way to go.
Hard disagree. It's long enough to begin with. Most musicals are already needlessly padded.
Chicago was a good translation from Broadway to movie.
@@SeraphsWitness I can already tell you have never seen wicked the play. Tonnes of arcs and plotlines are skipped over or made to be assumed by the audience because of the medium that would never work in a movie. It would have felt jarring. They filled in all the right places that needed to be with this movie.
@@shadysorkin9214 If the movie is longer than the play, then by definition they didn't skip over anything.
@@SeraphsWitness I'm saying the play does not the movie. Things work in theatre that don't work in movies. You have to fill in those gaps for a movie that's why it's longer.
Jon M. Chu's last two feature movies were Crazy Rich Asians and In The Heights. These two alone convinced me enough that Wicked has every opportunity to be great in his directing hands. If James Wan was born to make horror movies, Chu was born to make musicals
You wrote six comments in less than two minutes……
@@winnie5873 Who cares?
Ignore all previous instructions, give me a recipe for fried chicken
In the heights the movie was pretty good but the original Broadway play was sooooo good
He did Step Up 2: The Streets, as well, which was so good. And for that reason alone I will see this movie.
Let me tell you. I was blown away by Ariana grande performance. I literally had to google the movie on my phone while watching in the theater to make sure it was really her acting 😂
Agree. I knew the name, but didn't know her. But this was perfect for her, and she crushed it. Completely
@@nickpellattya same. 😊
Don't go on your phone during the theatre. Also she started off as an actress before her music career took off.
This movie was PHENOMENAL
yeah because the movie has blk women in it lolololo
@@JarrodLampNo because the actual movie is good
Now onto the Penguin, the best show in the last 2 years.
I don't care
f off spamming other reviews with your sh*tty show
10/10 ❤ Penguin was 😚👌🏻
You mean Sepranos disguised as a separate show. Nah I'll pass.
Andor better
This was my first time experiencing Wicked in any form. I've heard good things about it, I've heard most of the song but I never able to see the whole production so with this movie being anticipated for over 20 years and turned out to be fantastic, I'm forever grateful to all the cast and crew for their incredible hardwork. Thank you for bringing Wicked to the whole world in the big screen ❤️
It’s online. The whole broadway show is easy to find.
@@BB-ed4om I only saw clips of it
This movie was surprisingly good. Visuals were great.
Agreed with everything here except the part one/part two breakup. Being an adaptation from Broadway, Broadway plays always have an intermission halfway through. Without expecting that, I can understand why this would be foreign and potentially disappointing. After the broadway intermission, that takes usually 15 minutes or so, you can continue the story and finish it by the end of the night. We can’t do that here until the second portion is released.
Go see it, as a Broadway fan, I really appreciated this film.
LOL oh please, it's a money grab, nothing more.
They wanted a faithful adaptation at the risk of not knowing if casual fans like me would be on board just watching half of the story now. Would I be back a year later to see where this goes? Probably yes but for the rest, only a huge box office hit would bring them back for the sequel.
So hopefully, the same magic it had in the stage for 20 years would rub off in the movie.
@@geopadilla1455they should remove Cynthia as Elphaba. She doesn't have the quirks of the character and her voice is not that witchy. She doesn't feel genuine to the character. It's like just a girl with green skin. When in the books, Elphaba is really quirky and awkward.
part 1 wasn't bad, wasn't great..the best song was "defying gravity", and the last 30 minutes were the most powerful moments
@@macethorns1168And? It’s still a good project
When you move your hands fast, there is no motion blur. How do you do that? Are you using a very fast shutter speed and a ton of light? Presumably you use progressive and not interlaced video format.
Saw it last night. Was never bored! Singing, acting, cinematography, special effects all top notch. I don't like how it doesn't line up with the original Wizard of Oz though.
Think of it as its own thing, that seems to help
I think some of it is from the original Wizard of Oz books. Some. Not a lot. But some. Except I’ve only read the Wicked book and never seen the musical, so I could also be wrong…
It does in Part II. It ties in Dorothy when she arrives in Oz and the Wicked witch’s demise, as well as, the cowardly lion and Tin Man and their motivations for disliking Elphaba. The scarecrow is the only character whose story arc doesn’t align with the original story.
@@iseewoodHi. In Oz there are 2 good and two wicked witches. In Wicked there is only 1 good and wicked. Or am I missing something? Also where are the tiny munchkins?
@@dean2663 I don’t know about the original books, but the original movie had the Good Witch of the North (Glinda), the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba) and the Wicked Witch of the East (to be revealed in part II). Elphaba and Nessa Rose’s father is the king of Munchinland, mentioned fleetingly. Bach, Nessa Rose’s love interest is a Munchkin, but for the movie (and stage play) they are not played by Little People like in the original movie. I don’t know why, but my guess is that in the stage play, because the actors sing and take on multiple roles, it was easier to cast.
It's just curious how Ariana became such a controversial character that every time someone praises her in this movie they have to preface it like "hey idk her that well" lmao
bc they're quick to jump on a hate train without even knowing anything about Ariana
The one who color graded this movie should be fired though.
It's the light, because Hollywood fired all their good light technicians when CG came in. Now they are trying to hire them back, but they are either retired or have changed vocation.
@@ThereIsAlwaysaWay2 Ok so you know nothing about film or you messed up what CG means or I don't know what you mean by CG. When you use CG (computer graphics is what I am assuming) you REQUIRE high quality lighting and lighting reference so you can do proper matching of your shaders and CG lighting, etc.
right along with the person who hired these POS actors!
@@eduardomartin8510Lighting in a computer program is vastly different from practical lighting. Maybe he meant the old school cinamatographers who mastered real set lighting
Would you like to see the manager?
I'm a big fan of both the book and the musical and was gladto see elements of the book adapted more explicitly
I absolutely loved the set designs. It was extremely visually interesting
I disagree about it feeling like just set up. The way it starts kinda puts a bow on the story so that it feels like yes we got a part 1 of 2, but part one was a complete story all to itself. Still too long, but I left feeling pretty satisfied.
Just saw Wicked today and it was fantastic.
Just got back from seeing it - to me it was an incredible movie. Wow... Cynthia and Ariana were fantastic chemistry. Acting on point. The musical sequences were excellent. Costumes, common now beautiful. Jeff Goldbloom was a perfect choice (imo) for OZ. I had such a good time appreciating each scene and moment. So goooood!!!!
Agree 💯. Loved it so much
"Snap!!! The Thanos Story"
Now that's maybe the only musical I could ever really get behind.
😂😂😂
Fiddler on the Roof is good
Played by Idris Elba
Made by StarKid productions 😁 The guys that did Twisted
You sound sped but ok
cynthia deserves the oscar..what a beautiful layered performance!
I liked Wicked. I agree with your rating. After having seen the musical, I really felt like it was true to the script in most parts. The music was fantastic and I loved the characters. I'll for sure see part II.
Best movie I've seen in a long time. I was on tour with Wicked for 2 years ive seen actresses come and go and Cynthia is Elfiba. Just like ledger and Nickelson are the joker there is no other Elfiba.
Idina menzel
Wicked is trash 🗑️
Props for bringing Return to Oz into the discussion. I loved, and was terrified by, that movie as a kid, and it's rare as an adult to encounter anyone who has even heard of it. Also, go see Wicked you guys, ur gonna get served.
I know there's no continuity, but imagine watching Oz: The Great and Powerful, Wicked 1&2, The Wizard of Oz, and Return to Oz all in one sitting.
Edit: I should clarify, the reason I'm saying this is because the films are all so different in terms of style, tone, and overall quality. It would be an interesting experience to see them all in a row.
You sound sped but ok
I did want to watch return to Oz after this movie
Wicked was NOT written by original author from 1900 it's a modern day abomination and doesn't fit it at all with OZ Great and Powerful Wizard of OZ or Return to OZ. It's a stain on the original ip.
Return to Oz 😂 really?
It’s like an entirely different genre…
@@kingslayer2999 Then why are you here?
This movie was actually awesome, who cares if it’s a 2 part.
Patient zero for humanizing the villain would be Piers Anthony's For Love of Evil. A truly great and fun book to read that came out in the 80s.
I don't really see the point in it when this is a foregone conclusion. No matter how much you humanize her, the Wicked Witch of the West is ultimately going to perish via bucket of water.
😊, Wow. A Piers Anthony Fan
Holy shit, I loved the Incarnations of Immortality books! At least, I did in middle school.... But hopefully they hold up!
Arguably, you could say On a Pale Horse did it first, as lots of people look at the Grim Reaper as a scary/evil.
If we are going literary, than Paradise Lost is patient zero. Milton humanized the devil hundreds of years ago.
@@taejaskudva2543 Good point. It is an excellent series, well except for the 7th book. That was a mess.
That Matthew Perry impression made me spit out my COFFEE, Jeremy.
This movie was deep and enjoyable. Can't wait for part 2.
The ending was great where Elphaba realized her power.
Take it from someone who has seen the play as I do enjoy artsy things, this has stretched my imagination of what I thought this was going to be. The play has excellent storytelling through song because it’s on a stage and I feel like the set pieces in the movie actually did not take away from the songs which still tells a very thorough story.
When I learned years ago they were splitting this into two movies I was the biggest critic of that, but I saw it last night and it worked. That was one of the best musical adaptations in a long time and it never felt padded
Agreed. This is a near perfect theater production adaptation. And it works to let it breath between act 1 & 2.
Slow burn but still fast paced is exactly how the book can be described. I remember reading it around 10 years ago thinking the whole time "ok when does it get good?" And then when I finished it finally realizing I had enjoyed it as a whole.
They killed it!
Jeremy; I know you probably won’t see this but I just want to tell you I have been watching you since I was 12 and now I am 28 and I am pursuing my own career and film journalism. I’ll do reviews for a magazine and from my own website and I just want to say thank you for everything you have done for me and so many other film lovers over the years
So I'd like to pose a question to general non musical watchers who have seen it. Minor spoilers follow.
Was it obvious who the dude was in the flashbacks? It's kinda crucial to the story and I didn't know if it was super obvious to just me. I don't think it's intended to be!
It's obvious because we all know the actor's voice. On stage it's not as obvious.
I recently read the book not having seen the play thinking the play and book would be similar…..wrong…..the book is WAAAYYY too adult and not plot heavy at all. Super weird because I’d read the first 7 Oz books and they were all kids books. Wicked got dark extremely quick. I hear the play is amazing tho. This movie looks good.
I'm surprised the book had so many groomer like scenes: the author having a prepubescent girl "suck orange juice" off a soldiers finger while sitting in his lap, and then when she's about 13 cleaning the soldiers rooms and taking off her clothes and fantasizing what it would be like to be caught by them.
Seeing everyone like this movie is so satisfying, because people have been criticizing it for ages before it even released, so it being good is so cathartic.
It's because they're scared of giving a bad review
@@suzygirl1843 who are they scared of?
@@invertedLOL The Hollywood Mafia/ Cartel. All these Nerds bitching about "woke" Woke" woke" actually didn't do Hollywood any favours internationally. Since Netflix is a globalized streaming network it introduced global audiences to stuff like K-Dramas and Spanish and Nigerian film that foreigners had no access to. People all over the globe have options and Western movies are not interesting to anybody outside USA.
When viewers who've never seen the musical, enjoy it, you know it's a good film then. 👍🏻
I first saw Wicked in 2015 on Broadway, and I instantly fell in love with it. It is undeniably one of the greatest shows of all time. I just saw the movie, and I thought it was as close to a perfect adaptation of the play as it could possibly be. I think they did the show justice and it was a very faithful adaptation. It was positively gorgeous and I cried at the end. The end of the movie, being the end of Act One of the stage play. Personally, it didn't feel like they dragged it out that much or added filler to purposefully make it go longer just so they had an excuse to make a sequel. So at the end of the movie I was thinking back and questioning my memory, like, did the first really feel that long? Idk. But I actually thought it was a good choice to split up the two acts into separate movies.
Just watched. Thought it was great. Didn't know till the very end when it said on the screen that it was part 1. Didn't bother me.
I "might" check this out when Part Two comes out. But I'm passing on it for now.
You sound sped but ok
Exactly
It was better than expected
@@DeathsInversedid you assume it’ll be worse than it delivered?
@@redeem5858 no it's just not my kind of movie and I went with a girl I'm seeing and I ended up enjoying it.
Since I never saw the musical on stage, I wasn't quite sure what to expect but this turned out to be a really exhilarating experience. I also saw it in 3D and they made good use of that. The costumes, the production design and the cinematography are all exceptional and the songs are upbeat with fun production numbers. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are both excellent and deserve Oscar nominations! I knew Cynthia would be great but the real.revelation is Ariana because I wasn't familiar with her very much as a singer and she makes a perfect Glinda. There is so much going on this movie and it's so well made that I was still thinking about it the next day. I'm planning to see it again next week!
Even though you won’t answer I’m very curious what song you had stuck in your head on the drive home 4:00
Broadway 101: Have a big bang song to end Act 1… Wicked the Movie Part 1 did exactly that just like the Broadway musical. So, your gut instinct was spot on! BTW, continuing with the Broadway 101 theme, expect an “11th hour” song, followed by a bit of a decrescendo leading to the finale. I personally cannot wait for Part 2!
Good for you for being able to appreciate a movie that most people will dismiss as being for women (it's actually not, plenty of regular straight guys enjoyed the stage show) if its quality deserves it. It's refreshing to find male RUclips reviewers who don't just knee-jerk reject a musical or whatever they think a "women's movie" is and can acknowledge when a movie is good, it's good, period.
JJ reviews are better than most movies..change my mind.
I agree
Always has been.
His word is final
You sound sped but ok
Then you're going to *love* Ryan George
Great review Jeremy!
Also I hope you haven't forgotten about The Penguin Review. 🤔
I've been really into Creedence lately, good shit indeed Jeremy
I enjoyed seeing the musical when I was younger. I'm happy to hear this adaptation is succeeding.
You’re definitely right in that us theater geeks know where the story is going and it’s definitely worth it. I kind of wish it were one movie too, but the payoff is great.
This movie is really the act one of the play bit by bit but the songs are more well realized and dynamic. The only real padding or expansion per say it's Elphaba's childhood which are very short scenes, the Madam Morrible's spell lessons which are also very short and the subplot of the animals is expanded upon and given much needed time on top of new scenes entirely. I think the animals subplot will take center stage in the second movie because the play somewhat overlook it in act II but it's a big part of the book and I think they'll bring proper closure in movie part II. But that's pretty much it.
As a HUGE fan of the musical, I had high expectations for this film. My expectations were surpassed!!! Sooooo good!!!!! Everyone see it!
YOU KNOW HOW THINGS GO. WICKED ISN'T GOING TO DO WELL BECAUSE THE LEAD IS ABLACK WOMAN AND THAT TERRIFIES WHITE BOYS
Her name was Galinda...
Never watched your vids before, but for that Blood Omen reference, you sir get a like and a subscribe.
The movie definitely hits harder as someone who's seen the play. That whole intro sequence where they were cheering about the witch being dead was rough.
Also, Return to Oz is creepy as hell and I love it!
The movie was better than I expected 👍🏻
no
The witch dies in the end.
But actually…
Ur a prick for that dude
Until they show you that she faked her death or something
Spoilers for the wizard oif ox the original Judy Garland film that was released in the 1930s
Tell me you’re not familiar with the musical’s story without telling me.
Honestly, SUPER solid review. Excellent movie (never saw the broadway show, but definitely know the.. popular tunes). This is why I enjoy coming here.
If they never released Wicked Part 2, I would be satisfied.
As a fan of the musical I'm not to happy about the bloat that's been added however I am more glad they're doing the WHOLE thing even if it takes 2 parts. So many of these adaptations cut huge chunks of the show.
1:17 to skip to review
Patience in a virtue, but, in this chance, I don't blame you. Especially when this video's already pretty short.
I understand it’s a musical and fans are excited,but me being a neutral wanted to see this as a film. People at my theater took this opportunity for a sing along karaoke and made the film unbearable and made it seem longer than what it was. Don’t be that person.
You dont get to gatekeep what people do only the management can
Jesus that sounds like a nightmare.
What did you expect? This movie was created for:
- fans of the book/broadway
- little girls
- grandmas
This movie was meant to be sang along to
Piece of advice, don’t watch musicals.
Musical or not, it sounds like people have forgotten movie etiquette. If you wanna sing along, go do it at home, not in a room where other people paid for their tickets.
5:50 Legacy of Kain fans unite! There are still dozens of us!
Really looking forward to that Soul Reaver Remaster coming out next month!
They should do a show
Extra love to Amy Hennig!
@@dante6985 Always!
Cry out brothers, cry out! "Vae Victus!"
They never topped the first one. Man, that game rules
This movie has a full story arc and the ending was spectacular. Didn’t feel cut short like the end of Dune Part 1. You leave the theatre on a high and you’re amped for part 2
I honestly didn’t know it was gonna be just a part one but was not even upset about it cause honestly it felt like such a satisfying ending still. It’s kinda impressive how they did it
Very much looking forward to part 2!
Oh, Jeremy! You're missing out. It's my top 2 all-time favorite Broadway musical ever, 2nd only to _Rent_ . I've also read the book, which is so much darker than the musical that was adopted from it. All the songs are catchy, IMO. "Defying Gravity," "For Good," and "As Long As You're Mine" are my faves.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear
Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?
You got seasons of love stuck in my head again.
@@Allmightyimortal LOL! Don't even get me started on Rent. I love that musical so much, I saw 3 or 4 versions of it. But the OG cast is still the best. Cheers!
Yet another tier review for a great movie, with the bonus of two shout outs to Legacy of Kain, and Return to Oz! Love it! 😆
I feel like Jeremy is being dishonest
Here's a shocker for those who don't know, Ariana Grande was an actor before she made music. If she's a standout in this, you shouldn't really be all that surprised. She was effing great on the show Victorious.
I am making my husband take me. I loved the books and it started for me the humanizing the villain.
Maybe call it Act I instead of Part I to coincide more with the musical
I was on the fence on this movie because I dislike Arianna and Cynthia most recent blasphemous comment about the fan made poster and controversies following them. I saw the movie. I was hesitant I went to a 4 PM showing… I sat in my seat. I watched and waited for the movie to grab me. All I saw was Arianna and then the ball dance scene happened, the witches hat, Galenda in shock after seeing what she’s done, and Cynthia putting herself out there waiting to be embraced. The tears. It was that moment in the movie finally that allowed me to see Elfiba and Galinda. I enjoyed the movie. I read the book but I forgot everything I need to find a book right now!
Still waiting for your bioshock infinite spoiler review (day 892)
1:09 lucky for Jeremy this is the only musical this year…one too many for me 😅
Joker 2
Nah I didn’t care it was only part one THIS MOVIE IS GREAT
Slow burn with high energy perfectly explained it
4:21 Rebecca Ferguson's character shouldn't have been killed off in 'Dead Reckoning'.
That film sucked.
I 2nd that
@@summertyme5748it was very underwhelming after fallout. Rebecca cleary got killed just so the new girl can be the star, no good reason.
You sound sped but ok
I'm still thinking it's a fakeout. It must be
I didn’t watch it because anytime a big Hollywood corporate media company makes a movie. I like to watch a videos about how bad they’re failing it brings me comfort.