Michal Draker’s review published on Letterboxd:
For a very long time, I've been a big fan of Defying Gravity, as well as Idina Menzel & Kristin Chenoweth, yet I've never dived deeper into the world of Wicked. To be perfectly honest, I've never watched The Wizard of Oz either, besides knowing about its significance and belovedness through cultural osmosis.
I was excited for the movie and Jon M. Chu took me to some of the highest cinema-going peaks of the year. This journey to the highest heights was greatly supported by the power of Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo who are absolutely magnificent in their respective roles. Both of them gave me goosebumps, made me tear up, made me laugh, and made my heart ache from joyous excitement and heart-shattering sadness (or maybe I just need to see a doctor). The movie offers so much fun and delight, whimsy and magic, the musical numbers are fantastic - overall, it is an infectiously joyous viewing experience.
And even though the peaks were so beautiful and emotional and the movie was fun, I didn't really click with the way the story was told. The movie somehow feels too long, yet also sped up in parts to the point I would like to see more development or cohesion. The visual side of the movie is also a contradiction of its own. Wicked looks so stunning and gorgeous, yet the colours are washed out it was baffling to see, as well as some of the lighting choices, and I was the person who thought when people complained about it online it was just overreaction and hating. The colour grading is truly a shame because the costumes and production design are magnificent and I would've loved to see it pop more on the screen! The movie also has a moment (not sure if it is in the musical, I doubt it) that made me groan with hatred, and it also has to do with colour choices.
Wicked has what I like to refer to as The Greatest Showman Syndrome which is a condition that was discovered in my brain during the screening of The Greatest Showman, of course. I'm utterly enamoured by the musical numbers, the songs, the dances, but everything in between doesn't really click. In the case of Wicked there's much more to enjoy and adore in between, but I still have some gripes that diminish my enjoyment of the movie the more I think about it. But then I think about how certain moments and scenes moved me, and I'm simply in Love.
Maybe with my next viewing of Wicked I'll feel differently and more in tune with the way the story was presented, perhaps having a complete picture will make things click a bit more for me. Until then I just enjoy my cinema spoils and will be listening to an ungodly amount of Defying Gravity for the next week or so.
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