whatgift

I realised about a third of the way through watching this that I should stop thinking of it as a Predator movie (which is really isn't) - after that realisation I enjoyed it a LOT more! Having the predators speak and have complicated family issues just don't work for the Predator lore, and are this films biggest mistake.

While the story is somewhat generic, the action is excellent and well shot, with some amazing visual shots in the mix. It's somewhat a Marvel-ised version of a Predator movie.

The comedic elements did not work at all - they just felt forced and cringeworthy. Thankfully they are sparingly used so don't detract too much from the experience.

In the end, I enjoyed this a lot despite its flaws, and it deserves its place amongst other warrior epics - it's just not a Predator movie!

While delivered with a lot of enthusiasm by all involved, this does nothing to either expand or enhance the original stage play. It merely adds more characters, subplots, CGI and an hour to the runtime unnecessarily.

It's crazy that despite the bloated runtime, the switch of the two main characters from enemies to friends is almost instantaneous - it's not earned or in any way believable. The Glinda character here is so devoid of any nuance, her presence and chemistry with Elphaba seems utterly pointless and inconsequential to the plot.

The dance numbers were well choreographed and performed, they just felt flat and generic, also overly whimsical to the point of nausea.

I was so utterly bored in the middle act I could barely keep my attention on the movie,

The stage play is a masterpiece, and its a shame that this sullies its legacy by adding more elements just for the sake of it.