Wicked

I can't quite wrap my head around all the positive comments for this film, they go so far that it is almost suspicious.

Anyway, me and my partner looked at each other after 1 hour and nodded to each other that it was time to leave. The storyline was going nowhere and it was frankly dull. I was really disappointed after reading some of the reviews for it, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't that. It was so predictable that I could sit there and mouth the next line before they even said it, the cinematography was pretty average too, for me there wasn't much to like about it. Perhaps kids would enjoy it more? Sorry but I won't be watching P2.

2 hours and 40 minutes and this is only Part 1?! Nowhere except for in the cinema did I see the film advertised as PART 1-not in the advertising, not in the cinema listing, and not on the marquee. I don't think I would have gone knowing there were more parts coming. And since Wicked was just as long as a musical and had a beginning, middle, and an end in that same amount of time, it means that they should tell the entire story in about 9 hours. Yes the creativity of the sets and the CGI of animals were amazing, and the leads were pretty good especially since they had big shoes to fill. Cynthia & Ariana held their own, and Ariana may have a second career as she was awesome on SNL as an actor. Jonathan Bailey was a standout for sure, and can obviously sing and dance and came across as completely swoon worthy. Bowen Yang gave the film some camp and humour. But I guess we have a couple of more films to give a solid rating. Is it a 1/10?-no, that's too harsh, maybe not your cup of tea or too long. Is it a 10/10?!-no you might be fanning out on Wicked The Musical, Ariana, or Cynthia a little too much and perhaps you need a restraining order. But somewhere in the middle seems appropriate, until we see the subsequent parts.

I genuinely wanted to love this film and was so disappointed with it in the end. I really enjoyed the West End play and so was keen to see this version. Boy did it drag. It was about 1 hour too long. The set was lovely, the characters were ok and some of the songs were upbeat enough to engage, but overall it just wasn't captivating enough. I didn't even like most of the musical score. At times it actually made me cringe and I wished for it to end. I know most people seem to love it, but I just couldn't. I tried, but I wanted to escape by the second hour. It was just far too long and not captivating enough to keep me interested.

The acting's great, the sets and choreography are spectacular, vibrant and full of colour and there are some great songs (in between them belting out notes for no reason), but it's hard to recommend when so much of it is left unfinished. The light plot fells drawn out, mainly focusing on the relationship between the two leads, with other characters barely used and other plot points never really explained. There's some good humour and attempts at defying traditional expectations but I never felt in awe or amazed at the magical world of Oz and the ending, whilst dramatic, felt rushed.

Overall = 6/10.

Okay, my bona fides first. Saw a touring production of this show and really enjoyed it. Have listened to the Original Cast cd many a time. So was primed to enjoy this movie. But OMG was it slow. Which illustrates, to me anyway, that it did not to be in two parts. What's more, that putting it into two parts was a cynical cash grab.

In addition, it was frenetic. Stomping-style choreography in nearly every number, and quick cut edits that ruined songs like Popular and Dancing through Life.

Plus, the Emerald City didn't look much different from Munchkinland.

The two singers were fine, except I found it hard to understand Ariana G. When she sang high.

I have a feeling the rating will go lower as more people see this.