A large reason that wicked can work as a 2 part story is that the second act takes place some time after the first act, so it's not like stopping in the middle of a story where the subsequent half directly and immediately continues the narrative. Act 2 takes place once glinda and elphaba are established in their roles, not in college
not sure if it were just my first viewing experience or the fact that i’m not familiar with the play, but even this first movie felt so quick despite the fact that it was over 2 hours long. the leads made sure there was never a dull moment. 10/10 casting choices, ariana had my whole theater laughing, cynthia had everyone crying
How can people get mad at Dan for revealing movies are "part ones"?? I think he *should* be doing it because it can be very annoying, and frankly, a bit of a ripoff, to go into a movie that's not marketed as part one, then leave with a cliffhanger. Hollywood is doing this *so much* nowadays that I think at this point its kind of a reviewers duty to warn audiences about this kind of stuff
not only that, it was actually mentioned that this film was going to be split into 2 films back when it was greenlit, claiming the extra runtime being needed to include story beats from the book being added or some such nonsense
From what I heard, the reason why Universal Pictures is separating Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in the acting category for award season campaign is that they didn't wanna repeat the same mistake that the Tony Awards did in nominating both Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel in the leading category for Wicked with Idina winning it and Kristin losing it. A lot of people complained how robbed Kristin was but seemed to forgot who was her competition at the time
Here's the thing - that's not a mistake by the Tony Awards. Those are both leading performances. Studios shouldn't just get to redefine what a lead role is and what a supporting role is just because they want two trophies or to protect someone's ego. There have to be limits.
@@DanMurrellMovies Understable, I just think that Universal really wanted both of them to win something without it's fanbase and award season fanatics taking down one another. Also I should've make it clear, I also don't think it's a mistake by the Tonys, I'd say it's a mistake that was felt by the people who were involved in Wicked who were disappointed that Kristin didn't win anything for Glinda
Let's not forget how much screen time Cristoph Waltz had for a "Supporting" performance in Django Unchained or how little screen time Anthony Hopkins had in a "Leading" performance for Silence of the Lambs! @@DanMurrellMovies
@RonnieR29 Agreed, but at least you can justify Waltz as supporting by saying that he's part of an ensemble that shared screen time. Or that Hopkins' screen time may be short, but he played the dominant male role in the film. With Saldana and Grande, I'd bet that if you took a stopwatch and timed the screen time for them versus their 'leading' co-stars, they'd be on screen nearly as much or more, and they each play one of two of main characters in the film. It's crazy.
Def see Wicked on stage if you get the chance. It is really great. I went to high school with the woman currently playing Elphaba on Broadway so if you happen to catch that particular show, you’re in for a real treat.
People are putting waaaaay to much buzz into the two-part structure. The narrative works naturally with that break. You have two independent narratives: pre-Wizard of Oz and during Wizard of Oz. If you've never seen the Musical, but have only seen the Wizard of Oz, Wicked "part 1" absolutely just works as a stand alone prequel without even bothering with the second movie.
My issue is turning a 2.5 hour musical into two movies with over 5 hours of running time. Movies should tell a movie more economically than a stage play, but instead its double the length. Sounds bloated.
@mikeiseastman where did you get the idea that a movie adaptation should be more condensed than a stage musical? That's crazy. Stage musicals typically have a 2 act structure, where movies have a 3 act structure. It makes more sense, and does more justice to the source material, to adapt each of the stage acts into their own three act films, then it does to try and restructure the narrative to create a third act out of no material, or segment the two acts into a single rushed and bloated six act film. In addition, like I said before, this particular material works as two Independent films. The first film being a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, and the second film being a companion story that takes place during the events of The Wizard of Oz. The "part 2" film doesn't happen immediately after part 1. There is a prominent time gap, several years, between the story events of each part. (Enough of a gap, that when the film was still in pre-developmemt stages, it was a common fan-casting trope to cast two different sets of actors to play the characters before and after the time-jump.)
@@danielleoliver1734 yep. The break between the movies is during the time gap, just like the intermission of the show. Basically each of the Acts in the show are getting their own dedicated movie. Movie 1: Before Dorothy gets to Oz Movie 2: While Dorothy is on the Yellow Brick road.
@@rjenyawd film is a faster storytelling medium as you can show rather than tell. Theatre plays have to establish more in dialogue, which takes more time. You also are under the false impression that each act of a play is a 3-act structure. That's like taking Macbeth and making 5 2-hour movies because Macbeth is built in a 5-act structure. I'm just afraid of a tight 2.5 hour show needlessly turning into a 5 hour pair of films. Unless they are adding a bunch of new plot lines, there's no need to add another 2+ hours of material.
I don't think anyone has the right to get upset with you at all for simply giving them information but more to the point, people got mad at YOU for correctly informing them it's part one? Shouldn't they get mad at the studio for not making it clear it's a part one?
“Glinda is largely a comedy role” have y’all seen how Ariana Grande acted her ass off as Cat Valentine in Victorious? That’s the role that catapulted her to a grammy winning superstar despite not being the lead of the show. She was meant for this role and I’m happy she embodied the character well.
It’s pretty easy, due to her career for the past 10 years, to forget that Ariana Grande started out as an actor. I wasn’t really anticipating this film at all, but hearing Dan’s thoughts has made me curious to check it out.
I watched it today at the early fan screening of the film, and I was entirely surprised. I had never watched the stage play or known any of the songs, but I’d love this 'Wicked' movie. One of my favorite things about movies or even TV shows is that if I don’t like the main characters, I don’t continue watching, but I love these main characters, Galinda, and Elphaba. The songs were great, and I was surprised by the action. The costuming was great, as were the set design, the building designs, and the CGI. I'm seeing this movie again on Tuesday. I give it a 9/10; it's my favorite movie of the year! It surpassed Deadpool.
I have plans to see this in the theater, but not until Day after Thanksgiving. I've read the book, seen the musical, have the music, so not worried about spoilers. I'm so happy that you like it. I bet there was lots of ways this could have been done bad.
@@aeis3007 I enjoyed it and thought it was an interesting read. It's more political than the musical. When they announced the musical I kept thinking this was going to be a difficult transformation.
So just as a point, Jeff Goldblum got his start on Broadway and also has a jazz band so this isn't casting for the sake of casting a big Hollywood actor.
I'm so glad the reviews have been positive so far. I love the musical, but have been burned by bad adaptations of musicals I love before (looking at you, Into The Woods). Definitely go see the stage show asap. It is an amazing experience
As a big fan of the musical, I’m glad that the movie seems to do the source material justice while also standing on its own. The only reason why I’m being a bit conservative with my predictions for it opening weekend and box office overall is because generally movie musicals outside of Disney, don’t tend to do very well with the general public. With this opening so close to the holidays though we might see something similar to what happened with greatest showman on top of what I think would be very solid word-of-mouth . I can’t wait to check this out multiple times in the coming weeks.
I saw it in a pre-screening last night and can not stop thinking about it. I actually applauded at the end of it and I was not alone in the audience! It was beyond my expectations! I hope it is remembered and honored when Oscar nomination come out.
My husband and I used to live at the theater seeing a movie or two a week. In the last year we've gone to maybe 2 or 3. Wicked was the first movie that's come about where we flocked to get presale and are making a whole day out of it! Can't wait to see it this weekend and even more so after such an amazing review!!
I'm a very big fan of the musical. I will be judging the film as a film first and an adaptation second. I remember Grande on Nickelodeon sitcoms so I knew she would be perfect.
Will be interested to see how it does against Moana 2 when that opens for thanksgiving. They could both perform well, they have similar but not identical audiances. However, the fact Moana 2 is not dropping review embargos before the day of release, means it could be a bad movie (although at this point, Moana is pretty much critic proof, much like the minions).
I wish cinemas had an interval with films over 2 hours I’d love to see it on the big 3d screen but its basically 3 hours with the ads. The theatre version is similar length to just this film and it has a break.
I feel like Ariana wouldn't mind being nominated for supporting actress- especially considering all the awards and recognition she already has from her music.
Great review. Thanks. I might go see it, but it's true it has been a distraction how both stars have behaved (Ariana has been weirdly in character for some interviews and Erivo's recent comments made me immediately dislike her, what an insecure drama queen.
I saw it with my daughter last night in 3D. Saw the musical a year and a half ago. Have to say, I thought it was epic. She was in tears through the whole thing, as a WOO fanatic. I was truly impressed.
I’m so excited for this movie. I really hope you liked it. I absolutely loved in the Heights! So I’m not surprised John M. Chu enhanced all the musical numbers.
The part one thing is a funny complaint. One if the few truly outragous out if nowhere cliffhangers in a big movie that a reasonable person might have complained about is the concensus choice as the best Star Wars movie.
Small thing Dan - just because I didn’t see it early on in the Top Comments, so apologies if you already know, but it is pronounced like ARE-iana, not AIR-iana. I think she’s less snippity about people saying it incorrectly these days than when she was younger (which is awkward since literally some of her costars still say it wrong), but I just wanted you to be aware for when you film part two. Love your work as always and thanks for having your review ready! I’m seeing an early Wednesday night screening in IMAX with my brother tomorrow. Most anticipated film of the year for me, so I’m sooooo glad it has your seal of approval! ❤
As someone who has seen Wicked onstage more times than I care to admit and knows the cast album by heart, I’m more than a little nervous. I love musical theatre and movie musicals from years past, but have mostly assumed I won’t like the movie-almost to the point of skipping it altogether. (Too many heartbreaks to count)) I was just telling my kids today that I was waiting for your review before deciding to go, but I’m sold!
I saw it last night. It does the stage play musical justice. It had so many Easter eggs from the Wizard of Oz, stage musical, the book, and some surprise cameos, music, dancing sequences, cinematography. The two actresses Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande owned their roles as the witches. The whole cast and crew I think did an amazing job. My husband went to the play with me and also to the movie last night. It was funny because it was mostly women and a couple of guys in the theater. I think most of the guys were going to Gladiator 2 and the women going to Wicked. But when he's not interested in a movie, he goes outside for a lot of smoke breaks and leaves early to go get the car. He stayed until the very end To Be Continued on the screen. Will probably see it again with mom, sisters, nieces that want to go.
Sometimes I feel like I have been transported to an alternate universe - I primarily remember Wicked as a book. And I remember it being a really popular book in its day - so much that Gregory Maguire wrote more books with the same premise. So it is so strange having all the commentary about the movie, and discussions of adaptation, and people just don't even mention that the broadway musical itself was an adaptation of an already popular and well-received work (not an issue with you, Dan, excellent review, just needed to mourn a little for a seemingly forgotten book that I really liked).
8:17 for Wicked specifically, I think they're going to push Erivo as lead for part 1 and Grande as lead for part 2, and also it may be a bit of not wanting to repeat that part of Wicked history as Menzel and Chenoweth competed for lead actress in the Tony's.
I guess I just don't get the idea of pushing a leading performance into a supporting category. It doesn't seem fair to actors that are actually doing good work in real supporting roles. If you have two great leads, it seems like that's a good problem to have.
@@DanMurrellMoviesYep, it sucks. The same thing is happening with Saldaña this year and she will probably win Supporting for THE lead performance in the movie
If you saw Victorious as a kid and/or saw the Quinton Reviews videos on Victorious and Sam and Cat, you know Ariana is a MASSIVELY talented actress who was hamstrung by a creepy, vindictive producer and subpar material.
I did enjoy Ariana Grande in the live tv performance of Hairspray. Looking forward to this one, as it’s the first musical film being marketed as a musical in quite some time. Maybe Cats was the last one?
As someone who has seen the musical four times live, I am so happy that Jon M. Chu had the actors sing live. Pre-recordings sometimes take me out of the moment in musical movies.
@@ExplodingRabbit1 How is that relevant to singing live? Please, choose your battles wisely. Even Beauty and The Beast from 19991 yes the animated movie, had them sing in a room together.
I can understand why studios play with the nominations like that. The voters would be split if they didn’t do the actress and supporting actress. Then another person outside of wicked could win for inferior work.
So excited to hear that the movie lives up to the hype!! I'm a fan of Wicked but I've been cautiously optimistic about it up until now. I really hope I like it when I see it this weekend!
Same. I'm loving all of the positive reviews. I was more skeptical than hopefully optimistic, though. I was worried we'd have another Cats on our hands.
We showchoir kids circa 2004-2005 were all obsessed with this musical soundtrack and I got the chance to see it on Broadway in 2007. It has a high, high bar to cross.
I saw the movie last night. Jeff as the wizard wasn’t bad for me. The wizard is a carnie, and I think Jeff’s acting style helps bring that part of the character to life. I thought both ladies were performed well, however, I felt Cynthia‘s face did not convey the desired emotions during certain scenes. Sometimes, her face looked very vacant. Someone who is not familiar with the story may misinterpret how Elphaba was feeling.
I’ve seen wicked on broadway and just saw the movie today! It was wonderful and exceeded my expectation, though I agree with you on the Jeff Goldbloom statement. I wasn’t sold as much on his role as I was the rest of the cast.
The only thing I will push back a bit on with what Dan was saying is that I do in fact think Les Miserables (2012) is a genuinely great film. The set design was immaculate, the costume design was amazing, the vast majority of the cast had Broadway experience and as such delivered excellent vocal performances that matched the feel of a film rather that simply just the musical (*Russell Crowe* being the exception), and the rearrangement of song order made sense for the medium change. I get that there were some who were not a fan of the cinematography and the live vocal recording of the songs, but I think those creative choices helped emphasize the sung through nature of Les Miserables. Virtually nothing is spoken in Les Mis, so the live singing method basically conveyed that every song naturally happens within world. It isn't a bunch of talking and then cue a musical number. You are meant to feel, hear, and see the brokenness of this world and understand that for as beautiful as the songs and story are, the weight of this chaotic world is always threatening to overwhelm and crush them at any given moment.
If I had a nickel every time Peter Dinklage played a professor in a prequel, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's strange it happened twice.
Thanks for the review! I had just one thought about early screenings not always being positive --Joker 2. There the early screening helped crush the film's BO because WOM was so toxic, so it wasn't just critics not liking it, wasn't the general public as well.
Saying a movie is part 1 does change my expectations but I'd be mad at you if you _didn't_ tell me! After all, I at least want to brace myself for walking out of an unfinished movie and have the option to decide for the full release of how ever many parts there are to a film.
I understand why the director felt that it was necessary to break it into two pieces... but then having that privilege, he has to have managed to add a lot of time. Part 1 is about 60% longer than the same part of the stage show, and probably 80% longer than a direct filming in which the scene changes and stage exits can all be edited out. (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, while way more screwball-paced, is listed at 99 minutes!) If you keep it to 2 hours, you can get two primetime screenings instead of just one...
So glad you loved it Dan! Was looking forward to hearing your take on this. I’ve seen the Westend production 6 times so im really excited for this film
I am so excited for this movie. I was really nervous about how it would be adapted but Ive been cautiously excited. I am so glad you enjoyed. I think this will definitely be a movie I watch multiple time in theater and I normally only go once
I'm curious about the decision to have the actors sing live. To my memory Tom Hooper caught some flak for the same decision in Les Mis for the physical took it took on the actors and the varying degrees to which it succeeded.
Jon M. Chu directed In The Heights and Crazy Rich Asians already gave me enough hope this movie has every opportunity to be great. Chu directing musicals seems like the genre he was born to make
The way they set them up for nominations is okay with me. I don't think they should go up against each other. The movie is more about elphaba than galinda/glinda. But Ari did do a really amazing job
Great and very fair balanced review Dan. I saw it last night and will also be reviewing it at my channel this afternoon. My review will be from a former filmmakers😊 perspective
Yeah early buzz is completely meaningless now and what I've found in most cases is very good early hype means the movie usually ends up being meh to bad so I wasnt expecting anything from this. Surprised to hear its actually good.
Bf and I just got home from our early screening and wow was that movie amazing. Only left long like once or twice, but thoroughly entertaining the entire time really. Already planning on watching it a 2nd time and telling everyone I know about how great it is
I'm familiar with the songs and the story, but I've never seen the musical. I was apprehensive about this movie, but now I'm looking forward to seeing it next week (my mom has been clamoring to see Wicked, and I'm the sibling who usually takes her to the movies)
I've read the Wicked books and they are great. Dark, complex, sophisticated. Gregory Maguire made Oz an utterly believable place. I've also seen the stage musical, and it is nothing like the books. It's silly, superficial, and forgettable (for the record, I like musicals but usually more of the Sondheim variety). I'm not one who thinks that adaptations need to be super faithful to the source material, but if you're going to make changes in an adaptation, it should be to make it more interesting, not less interesting (which is how I felt about the musical). To use an analogy, the book is like The Dark Knight, whereas the stage musical is like Batman '66. Same basic concept told in completely different ways. If this was an adaptation of the book (which I think I've read four times), I would be really excited to see it. As an adaptation of the stage musical, my interest level is low.
I think it’s gonna cut off after defying gravity bc it’s literally an intermission in the show and after that it would be kinda weird for it to have no intermission and move on further.
Jon Chu is awesome and super underrated. I'm so glad he's doing more musicals - he was involved with Step Up and directed the awesome native stereo Step Up 3D!!
And now, for this review, the one and only, the wickedly talented, Darnell Mazeem
Thank you for making me giggle 💖
Lol. That's perfect! Someone needs to creepily come up and cup his face in their hands.
If this isn’t a pinned comment then I don’t know what is…
😂😂😂👏👏👏 That moment lives rent free in my head so this comment is perfect
ohhhh, i love knowing jokesss 😂
Ooh, a smiling thumbnail!
My thoughts too. Haven’t even seen the video yet
Right!!! I’m like “damn, I’m gonna have to see this aren’t I?” 😅
It feels like it's been a while since there's been one.
I was always going to see it but it's nice to know dan likes it too
I was shocked 😂
A large reason that wicked can work as a 2 part story is that the second act takes place some time after the first act, so it's not like stopping in the middle of a story where the subsequent half directly and immediately continues the narrative. Act 2 takes place once glinda and elphaba are established in their roles, not in college
You’re right, and it sounds like they heighten that ‘stop/start again’ aspect for these two films
not sure if it were just my first viewing experience or the fact that i’m not familiar with the play, but even this first movie felt so quick despite the fact that it was over 2 hours long. the leads made sure there was never a dull moment. 10/10 casting choices, ariana had my whole theater laughing, cynthia had everyone crying
How can people get mad at Dan for revealing movies are "part ones"?? I think he *should* be doing it because it can be very annoying, and frankly, a bit of a ripoff, to go into a movie that's not marketed as part one, then leave with a cliffhanger. Hollywood is doing this *so much* nowadays that I think at this point its kind of a reviewers duty to warn audiences about this kind of stuff
People like to shoot the messenger. It's sad, he's doing a public service when the marketing department is trying to deceive
I agree 1000%
Yes. I loved spiderverse but I was kinda annoyed at the surprise it was only a part 1
Honestly, I get mad at Dan for even revealing the title of a film.
not only that, it was actually mentioned that this film was going to be split into 2 films back when it was greenlit, claiming the extra runtime being needed to include story beats from the book being added or some such nonsense
From what I heard, the reason why Universal Pictures is separating Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in the acting category for award season campaign is that they didn't wanna repeat the same mistake that the Tony Awards did in nominating both Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel in the leading category for Wicked with Idina winning it and Kristin losing it. A lot of people complained how robbed Kristin was but seemed to forgot who was her competition at the time
Here's the thing - that's not a mistake by the Tony Awards. Those are both leading performances. Studios shouldn't just get to redefine what a lead role is and what a supporting role is just because they want two trophies or to protect someone's ego. There have to be limits.
@@DanMurrellMovies Understable, I just think that Universal really wanted both of them to win something without it's fanbase and award season fanatics taking down one another. Also I should've make it clear, I also don't think it's a mistake by the Tonys, I'd say it's a mistake that was felt by the people who were involved in Wicked who were disappointed that Kristin didn't win anything for Glinda
Let's not forget how much screen time Cristoph Waltz had for a "Supporting" performance in Django Unchained or how little screen time Anthony Hopkins had in a "Leading" performance for Silence of the Lambs! @@DanMurrellMovies
@RonnieR29 Agreed, but at least you can justify Waltz as supporting by saying that he's part of an ensemble that shared screen time. Or that Hopkins' screen time may be short, but he played the dominant male role in the film. With Saldana and Grande, I'd bet that if you took a stopwatch and timed the screen time for them versus their 'leading' co-stars, they'd be on screen nearly as much or more, and they each play one of two of main characters in the film. It's crazy.
It'd be interesting if both actresses get nominated twice in two years since this is a two-part project.
A ‘wickedly talented Adele Dazeem’ reference in 2024? You’re a sick man Dan😂
Seriously tho, that never gets old 😂😂😂
I guffawed!
Def see Wicked on stage if you get the chance. It is really great. I went to high school with the woman currently playing Elphaba on Broadway so if you happen to catch that particular show, you’re in for a real treat.
Does she have nice feet?
People are putting waaaaay to much buzz into the two-part structure. The narrative works naturally with that break. You have two independent narratives: pre-Wizard of Oz and during Wizard of Oz.
If you've never seen the Musical, but have only seen the Wizard of Oz, Wicked "part 1" absolutely just works as a stand alone prequel without even bothering with the second movie.
My issue is turning a 2.5 hour musical into two movies with over 5 hours of running time. Movies should tell a movie more economically than a stage play, but instead its double the length. Sounds bloated.
@mikeiseastman where did you get the idea that a movie adaptation should be more condensed than a stage musical? That's crazy. Stage musicals typically have a 2 act structure, where movies have a 3 act structure. It makes more sense, and does more justice to the source material, to adapt each of the stage acts into their own three act films, then it does to try and restructure the narrative to create a third act out of no material, or segment the two acts into a single rushed and bloated six act film.
In addition, like I said before, this particular material works as two Independent films. The first film being a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, and the second film being a companion story that takes place during the events of The Wizard of Oz.
The "part 2" film doesn't happen immediately after part 1. There is a prominent time gap, several years, between the story events of each part. (Enough of a gap, that when the film was still in pre-developmemt stages, it was a common fan-casting trope to cast two different sets of actors to play the characters before and after the time-jump.)
The stage show is split as well ,I assume we end this at the interlude
@@danielleoliver1734 yep. The break between the movies is during the time gap, just like the intermission of the show. Basically each of the Acts in the show are getting their own dedicated movie.
Movie 1: Before Dorothy gets to Oz
Movie 2: While Dorothy is on the Yellow Brick road.
@@rjenyawd film is a faster storytelling medium as you can show rather than tell. Theatre plays have to establish more in dialogue, which takes more time.
You also are under the false impression that each act of a play is a 3-act structure. That's like taking Macbeth and making 5 2-hour movies because Macbeth is built in a 5-act structure.
I'm just afraid of a tight 2.5 hour show needlessly turning into a 5 hour pair of films. Unless they are adding a bunch of new plot lines, there's no need to add another 2+ hours of material.
I don't think anyone has the right to get upset with you at all for simply giving them information but more to the point, people got mad at YOU for correctly informing them it's part one? Shouldn't they get mad at the studio for not making it clear it's a part one?
“Glinda is largely a comedy role” have y’all seen how Ariana Grande acted her ass off as Cat Valentine in Victorious? That’s the role that catapulted her to a grammy winning superstar despite not being the lead of the show. She was meant for this role and I’m happy she embodied the character well.
Well Dan is not really the target audience for that, don't you think ?
She really was amazing as Cat! I never doubted her chops. She is also the kind of weird that only a theatre kid can aspire to 😂
Or how good she was on SNL
Dan was that a wickedly talented Adele Dazeem reference 😂 love it.
Someday, Idina Menzel will get a biopic movie that's titled "An Adele Dazeem Story"
It’s pretty easy, due to her career for the past 10 years, to forget that Ariana Grande started out as an actor. I wasn’t really anticipating this film at all, but hearing Dan’s thoughts has made me curious to check it out.
I liked this too. But I found the color grading quite abysmal for a movie that has connections with The Wizard of Oz.
Yeah, that was my only complaint. A phenomenal movie let down by lackluster visuals at times.
It’s a happy Dan face, that bodes well!
I wasn’t going to see this. It just didn’t appeal to me from the preview. Your review has changed my mind.
Felt the same way but saw it last night and it was amazing. Enjoy 🎉
I watched it today at the early fan screening of the film, and I was entirely surprised. I had never watched the stage play or known any of the songs, but I’d love this 'Wicked' movie. One of my favorite things about movies or even TV shows is that if I don’t like the main characters, I don’t continue watching, but I love these main characters, Galinda, and Elphaba. The songs were great, and I was surprised by the action. The costuming was great, as were the set design, the building designs, and the CGI. I'm seeing this movie again on Tuesday. I give it a 9/10; it's my favorite movie of the year! It surpassed Deadpool.
I have plans to see this in the theater, but not until Day after Thanksgiving. I've read the book, seen the musical, have the music, so not worried about spoilers. I'm so happy that you like it. I bet there was lots of ways this could have been done bad.
Is the book worth it? I enjoyed the musical, but never read it.
Do they include the book discussion that the Tin Man & Scarecrow have about Elphaba's gender in the musical?
@@aeis3007 I enjoyed it and thought it was an interesting read. It's more political than the musical. When they announced the musical I kept thinking this was going to be a difficult transformation.
So just as a point, Jeff Goldblum got his start on Broadway and also has a jazz band so this isn't casting for the sake of casting a big Hollywood actor.
you actually surprised me when you said it was a part 1.
Well, someone had to, eventually.
One of these days Dan needs to smile in the thumbnail & then just shred a movie apart 😂
I'm so glad the reviews have been positive so far. I love the musical, but have been burned by bad adaptations of musicals I love before (looking at you, Into The Woods).
Definitely go see the stage show asap. It is an amazing experience
I’m glad you gave “In The Heights” a shout out. It was the director’s work on that movie that got me excited for this one.
YOU NEED TO SEE THE BROADWAY SHOW!! You won't regret it at all
Saw it tonight. It it was amazing! Totally agree on equal star power of both Cynthia & Ariana at awards time. Can't wait for Part 2 next year!
As a big fan of the musical, I’m glad that the movie seems to do the source material justice while also standing on its own.
The only reason why I’m being a bit conservative with my predictions for it opening weekend and box office overall is because generally movie musicals outside of Disney, don’t tend to do very well with the general public. With this opening so close to the holidays though we might see something similar to what happened with greatest showman on top of what I think would be very solid word-of-mouth
. I can’t wait to check this out multiple times in the coming weeks.
I'm just upset that the marketing is hiding the fact that this is part 1.
Same here. That's deceptive.
Didn’t Dune do that too?
They didn’t…
You’re upset?
You must have a great life, if this irrational “upset” of yours is worthy of telling us about.
I like the shot in this location. It looks better without the microphone taking up so much space, and still sounds good.
I saw it in a pre-screening last night and can not stop thinking about it. I actually applauded at the end of it and I was not alone in the audience! It was beyond my expectations! I hope it is remembered and honored when Oscar nomination come out.
My husband and I used to live at the theater seeing a movie or two a week. In the last year we've gone to maybe 2 or 3. Wicked was the first movie that's come about where we flocked to get presale and are making a whole day out of it! Can't wait to see it this weekend and even more so after such an amazing review!!
20 years ago,back in my 20’s, I too lived at the theatre! I saw almost every movie that came out. 4 or 5 a week!
I'm a very big fan of the musical. I will be judging the film as a film first and an adaptation second. I remember Grande on Nickelodeon sitcoms so I knew she would be perfect.
As a fan of the Wicked musical... i approve of this Wicked movie... it was sooooo good. And I screamed when I saw the cameos...
I hope you’re doing well. Thanks for your review of Wicked!💜
as a dan murrell stan this is enlightening
Thanks Dan! I really appreciate your trusted reviews.
Will be interested to see how it does against Moana 2 when that opens for thanksgiving. They could both perform well, they have similar but not identical audiances. However, the fact Moana 2 is not dropping review embargos before the day of release, means it could be a bad movie (although at this point, Moana is pretty much critic proof, much like the minions).
I wish cinemas had an interval with films over 2 hours I’d love to see it on the big 3d screen but its basically 3 hours with the ads. The theatre version is similar length to just this film and it has a break.
Hard pass
Already got my tickets. My whole side of the family is coming into town from a smaller town and we're going to see it prior to Thanksgiving!
Finally! Was looking forward to your review!
I feel like Ariana wouldn't mind being nominated for supporting actress- especially considering all the awards and recognition she already has from her music.
Great review. Thanks. I might go see it, but it's true it has been a distraction how both stars have behaved (Ariana has been weirdly in character for some interviews and Erivo's recent comments made me immediately dislike her, what an insecure drama queen.
Wow I wasnt expecting such high praise from you! I already have plans to see it, but now my expectations are much higher!
I saw it with my daughter last night in 3D. Saw the musical a year and a half ago. Have to say, I thought it was epic. She was in tears through the whole thing, as a WOO fanatic. I was truly impressed.
I’m so excited for this movie. I really hope you liked it. I absolutely loved in the Heights! So I’m not surprised John M. Chu enhanced all the musical numbers.
The part one thing is a funny complaint. One if the few truly outragous out if nowhere cliffhangers in a big movie that a reasonable person might have complained about is the concensus choice as the best Star Wars movie.
10:26 Also love Phantom and Les Miz. You would most likely enjoy the stage show of Wicked. It tours consistently. Keep an eye out.
Small thing Dan - just because I didn’t see it early on in the Top Comments, so apologies if you already know, but it is pronounced like ARE-iana, not AIR-iana. I think she’s less snippity about people saying it incorrectly these days than when she was younger (which is awkward since literally some of her costars still say it wrong), but I just wanted you to be aware for when you film part two. Love your work as always and thanks for having your review ready! I’m seeing an early Wednesday night screening in IMAX with my brother tomorrow. Most anticipated film of the year for me, so I’m sooooo glad it has your seal of approval! ❤
As someone who has seen Wicked onstage more times than I care to admit and knows the cast album by heart, I’m more than a little nervous. I love musical theatre and movie musicals from years past, but have mostly assumed I won’t like the movie-almost to the point of skipping it altogether. (Too many heartbreaks to count)) I was just telling my kids today that I was waiting for your review before deciding to go, but I’m sold!
I saw it last night. It does the stage play musical justice. It had so many Easter eggs from the Wizard of Oz, stage musical, the book, and some surprise cameos, music, dancing sequences, cinematography. The two actresses Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande owned their roles as the witches. The whole cast and crew I think did an amazing job. My husband went to the play with me and also to the movie last night. It was funny because it was mostly women and a couple of guys in the theater. I think most of the guys were going to Gladiator 2 and the women going to Wicked. But when he's not interested in a movie, he goes outside for a lot of smoke breaks and leaves early to go get the car. He stayed until the very end To Be Continued on the screen. Will probably see it again with mom, sisters, nieces that want to go.
Sometimes I feel like I have been transported to an alternate universe - I primarily remember Wicked as a book. And I remember it being a really popular book in its day - so much that Gregory Maguire wrote more books with the same premise. So it is so strange having all the commentary about the movie, and discussions of adaptation, and people just don't even mention that the broadway musical itself was an adaptation of an already popular and well-received work (not an issue with you, Dan, excellent review, just needed to mourn a little for a seemingly forgotten book that I really liked).
Yep, and did you know he even continued the story past the initial 3 or 4? There's a trilogy called "A New Day".
8:17 for Wicked specifically, I think they're going to push Erivo as lead for part 1 and Grande as lead for part 2, and also it may be a bit of not wanting to repeat that part of Wicked history as Menzel and Chenoweth competed for lead actress in the Tony's.
I guess I just don't get the idea of pushing a leading performance into a supporting category. It doesn't seem fair to actors that are actually doing good work in real supporting roles. If you have two great leads, it seems like that's a good problem to have.
@@DanMurrellMoviesYep, it sucks. The same thing is happening with Saldaña this year and she will probably win Supporting for THE lead performance in the movie
just realized you said this in the vid lol
"What's so wrong with stopping in the middle of a story and leaving everyone hanging in part 1?"- Kevin Costner
Glad to hear this review - saw the show with my daughter when she was younger so this is definitely on our must watch list!
Have you watched Ariana Grande on SNL? She is hilarious. I had no doubt she could do this based on that.
have people forgotten that she began her career as an actor?
Victorious?
If you saw Victorious as a kid and/or saw the Quinton Reviews videos on Victorious and Sam and Cat, you know Ariana is a MASSIVELY talented actress who was hamstrung by a creepy, vindictive producer and subpar material.
Victorious? She was very funny in that series
I did enjoy Ariana Grande in the live tv performance of Hairspray. Looking forward to this one, as it’s the first musical film being marketed as a musical in quite some time. Maybe Cats was the last one?
As someone who has seen the musical four times live, I am so happy that Jon M. Chu had the actors sing live. Pre-recordings sometimes take me out of the moment in musical movies.
Should call it Woked
Lol
@@ExplodingRabbit1 How is that relevant to singing live? Please, choose your battles wisely. Even Beauty and The Beast from 19991 yes the animated movie, had them sing in a room together.
I have chosen wisely I'll be long dead by 19991 lol
@@jukesy1992 Just ignore the troll.
@@jukesy1992 Trolls never post relevant or meaningful comments.
I can understand why studios play with the nominations like that. The voters would be split if they didn’t do the actress and supporting actress. Then another person outside of wicked could win for inferior work.
So excited to hear that the movie lives up to the hype!! I'm a fan of Wicked but I've been cautiously optimistic about it up until now. I really hope I like it when I see it this weekend!
Same. I'm loving all of the positive reviews. I was more skeptical than hopefully optimistic, though. I was worried we'd have another Cats on our hands.
Oooooh. Didn’t realize it was the same director as In the Heights. That guy knows how to adapt a musical! This gives me hope.
Yeah that news was fortunate to hear, because there have been some massive misses in the past. I’ve seen the musical and was massively impressed.
I believe Jon M Chu was born to make musicals
Ah Dan's biggest failure
Strangely his directing and staging felt really subdued for wicked compared to in the heights
We showchoir kids circa 2004-2005 were all obsessed with this musical soundtrack and I got the chance to see it on Broadway in 2007. It has a high, high bar to cross.
Ariana was a nickelodeon kid and was on a lot of shows growing up and she was always the comedic relief and good at it
i saw it monday and absolutely loved it! never seen the stage production either but i definitely want to and going to try to before part 2
People who are getting mad at you for saying it’s part 1 are hilarious. Grow up folks 😂. Also love the Oscar slip up joke!
I think the marketing hiding that this is a Part 1 could hurt it. Saw it yesterday. That was my only complaint.
but once people see that it still feels like a complete film..
@@ryyaannn_ they should still have promoted it as a part 1
The Fellowship of the RIng wasn't hurt from it being part 1
Genuine question: was dune hurt? That did the same exact thing
@mastersword648 right? People are whiners
I haven't watched the entire video yet. But I gotta say the cold open genuinely made me laugh 🤣. Good one.
Glinda couldn't tell Dorothy that the Wizard of Oz was a fugazi?
Glicked is upon us!
Wickiator
@@daegon1985 even better!
I saw the movie last night.
Jeff as the wizard wasn’t bad for me. The wizard is a carnie, and I think Jeff’s acting style helps bring that part of the character to life.
I thought both ladies were performed well, however, I felt Cynthia‘s face did not convey the desired emotions during certain scenes. Sometimes, her face looked very vacant. Someone who is not familiar with the story may misinterpret how Elphaba was feeling.
I’ve seen wicked on broadway and just saw the movie today! It was wonderful and exceeded my expectation, though I agree with you on the Jeff Goldbloom statement. I wasn’t sold as much on his role as I was the rest of the cast.
The only thing I will push back a bit on with what Dan was saying is that I do in fact think Les Miserables (2012) is a genuinely great film. The set design was immaculate, the costume design was amazing, the vast majority of the cast had Broadway experience and as such delivered excellent vocal performances that matched the feel of a film rather that simply just the musical (*Russell Crowe* being the exception), and the rearrangement of song order made sense for the medium change.
I get that there were some who were not a fan of the cinematography and the live vocal recording of the songs, but I think those creative choices helped emphasize the sung through nature of Les Miserables. Virtually nothing is spoken in Les Mis, so the live singing method basically conveyed that every song naturally happens within world. It isn't a bunch of talking and then cue a musical number. You are meant to feel, hear, and see the brokenness of this world and understand that for as beautiful as the songs and story are, the weight of this chaotic world is always threatening to overwhelm and crush them at any given moment.
Huh, not expecting such a review, i WILL check it out, then, Dan rarely steers wrong. The thumbnail smile was as the kids say, "sus"...😂
If I had a nickel every time Peter Dinklage played a professor in a prequel, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's strange it happened twice.
Thanks for the review! I had just one thought about early screenings not always being positive --Joker 2. There the early screening helped crush the film's BO because WOM was so toxic, so it wasn't just critics not liking it, wasn't the general public as well.
I was worried this wasn’t gonna work as a two part thing but this is encouraging!
Saying a movie is part 1 does change my expectations but I'd be mad at you if you _didn't_ tell me! After all, I at least want to brace myself for walking out of an unfinished movie and have the option to decide for the full release of how ever many parts there are to a film.
The Lord of the Rings and Dune were made much better by being multiple movies.
I understand why the director felt that it was necessary to break it into two pieces... but then having that privilege, he has to have managed to add a lot of time. Part 1 is about 60% longer than the same part of the stage show, and probably 80% longer than a direct filming in which the scene changes and stage exits can all be edited out. (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, while way more screwball-paced, is listed at 99 minutes!)
If you keep it to 2 hours, you can get two primetime screenings instead of just one...
It ending with Defting Gravity helps it feel like a complete movie
Yeah and then part 2 it will take place where Wizard of Oz is. Seen the broadway show and that’s how they did it.
So glad you loved it Dan! Was looking forward to hearing your take on this. I’ve seen the Westend production 6 times so im really excited for this film
I am so excited for this movie. I was really nervous about how it would be adapted but Ive been cautiously excited. I am so glad you enjoyed. I think this will definitely be a movie I watch multiple time in theater and I normally only go once
I'll wait for streaming
Ok
The Broadway musical was fantastic. I hope this is great as well.
I'm curious about the decision to have the actors sing live. To my memory Tom Hooper caught some flak for the same decision in Les Mis for the physical took it took on the actors and the varying degrees to which it succeeded.
its cuz he zoomed in 100x
I'm good on this film. I have 0 interest in musicals.
Great review Dan! Really looking forward to seeing this on sunday!!
Jon M. Chu directed In The Heights and Crazy Rich Asians already gave me enough hope this movie has every opportunity to be great. Chu directing musicals seems like the genre he was born to make
Let’s not forget the masterpiece known as Step Up 3D
@@joelanthonylim6792 I unironically love that movie for all the wrong reasons 😂
@@800Ms-k6n I'm also unironically praising Step Up 3D! I don't think we'd have Jon Chu today if he didn't start there
Unfortunately his directing was far better in those movies than it was in wicked
I'm sure that Wicked will be OK. Where's the Hot Frosty review?
The way they set them up for nominations is okay with me. I don't think they should go up against each other. The movie is more about elphaba than galinda/glinda. But Ari did do a really amazing job
Great and very fair balanced review Dan.
I saw it last night and will also be reviewing it at my channel this afternoon. My review will be from a former filmmakers😊 perspective
Yeah early buzz is completely meaningless now and what I've found in most cases is very good early hype means the movie usually ends up being meh to bad so I wasnt expecting anything from this. Surprised to hear its actually good.
I might go see the musical, but gonna pass on this one. Glad people enjoyed it, just not giving money to people who hate their audience.
Bf and I just got home from our early screening and wow was that movie amazing. Only left long like once or twice, but thoroughly entertaining the entire time really. Already planning on watching it a 2nd time and telling everyone I know about how great it is
I'm familiar with the songs and the story, but I've never seen the musical. I was apprehensive about this movie, but now I'm looking forward to seeing it next week (my mom has been clamoring to see Wicked, and I'm the sibling who usually takes her to the movies)
How bro
Didn’t no Arrianna started as an actress? lol😅
Dan What I do now, I do for the sake of the people of Earth. But there is one man on this planet who will NEVER kneel before you.
I've read the Wicked books and they are great. Dark, complex, sophisticated. Gregory Maguire made Oz an utterly believable place. I've also seen the stage musical, and it is nothing like the books. It's silly, superficial, and forgettable (for the record, I like musicals but usually more of the Sondheim variety). I'm not one who thinks that adaptations need to be super faithful to the source material, but if you're going to make changes in an adaptation, it should be to make it more interesting, not less interesting (which is how I felt about the musical). To use an analogy, the book is like The Dark Knight, whereas the stage musical is like Batman '66. Same basic concept told in completely different ways. If this was an adaptation of the book (which I think I've read four times), I would be really excited to see it. As an adaptation of the stage musical, my interest level is low.
Anyone who has seen Arianna Grande on SNL knew she was going to kill it on this role.
Everyone forgets she got her start as a Nickelodeon actress. Her role was largely giving the punch line so her comedic timing started young
She’s always been amazing with comedy and improv while also singing the roof off. Like on SNL and also when she was on Nickelodeon
She looks like a doll
I knew her acting skills in Victorious, she was very funny in that and i've been a huge fan of her since that
Great video Dan!
I think it’s gonna cut off after defying gravity bc it’s literally an intermission in the show and after that it would be kinda weird for it to have no intermission and move on further.
Jon Chu is awesome and super underrated. I'm so glad he's doing more musicals - he was involved with Step Up and directed the awesome native stereo Step Up 3D!!