"Wicked's first act has almost all of the show's most famous, sing-along-able songs in it: "The Wizard and I," "What Is This Feeling?" "Dancing Through Life," "Popular," and the legendary Act One closer that so easily translated to a big blockbuster-movie climax, "Defying Gravity." Act Two is a trickier, sloppier, less hummable affair. The main characters are estranged from each other for most of it. It is plot heavy, with its semi-ridiculous "fractured fairy tale" retelling of The Wizard of Oz."
"While watching Wicked: For Goodone year after the release of the charming first film, I found my doubts largely justified. The movie is both all over the place and slug paced, with chase scenes through confusing CGI backdrops, un-intriguing palace intrigue, and songs that start and stop in ways that kill all the momentum. I got the feeling that, counterintuitively, the only way to make a good Wicked movie was to split it into two parts, cutting Act Two off like a tumor so as not to taint part one."
The musical score is unevenly distributed, with Act One containing most of the memorable, singable numbers while Act Two is left with less hummable songs. Act Two emphasizes fractured fairy-tale plotting and character estrangement, producing sluggish pacing and narrative heaviness. CGI chase sequences and uninvolving palace intrigue further sap momentum, and several songs interrupt rather than propel scenes. The final twenty minutes concentrate on Glinda and Elphaba reuniting and departing, building toward an emotionally resonant climax that recreates the iconic Broadway poster image and provides a fitting, decisive ending.
Read at Vulture
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]