Wicked 2024 Review
Wicked was not for me.
I’m not a musical fan, so I knew going in that I wasn’t the intended audience. I fully understand and respect that Wicked is beloved by its target audience, and everything I say is with the awareness that it’s just not my thing. To those who love it, I’m genuinely happy for you, and I hope Part 2 makes you just as happy.
That being said, it’s a shame because there’s an excellent premise with so much potential here that feels bogged down by being a musical. The idea of exploring the rise of the Wicked Witch from her perspective is fantastic. She’s a character with a lot of depth, and thankfully, the film does focus on her. Unfortunately, she’s the only character who gets any meaningful development. Everyone else feels one-note at best, with Ariana Grande’s character being especially difficult to watch. Partly because the character is written to be annoying and unlikable, but also because Ariana Grande’s acting in this is just not good. I get the reasoning—she’s a singer, so let’s cast someone who can sing. But her performance is as awkward as if someone asked Tom Cruise to release a pop album. Her lack of acting ability is especially noticeable when she’s in scenes with far stronger actors.
On the other hand, Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch, was excellent. I was genuinely interested in her character’s growth and journey throughout the film. Sadly, no amount of good acting could save the pacing, which was horrendous. It made the movie tough to sit through. Just as I’d start getting invested in a scene, someone would break into a song, completely pulling me out of the moment. There was never enough time to flesh out or develop the characters because the film had to make room for musical numbers. In moments where the focus should have been on building character depth, we’d instead get a song, which was frustrating to endure.
As for the music, I didn’t like a single song—except for the one at the end. A lot of the songs weren’t even proper singing. Sometimes, the characters would sing their dialogue to each other, which was especially grating. It made me want to tune out, but I couldn’t fully ignore it because there were occasional bits of plot mixed into the songs. Not much, but enough to force me to pay attention, as painful as that was.
That said, I did enjoy the ending. Everything after they got on the train felt like the plot was finally moving. The unnecessary side characters were cut out, and the focus shifted to the key players. Ariana Grande’s character also took more of a back seat, which helped. This allowed the stronger actors to shine and interact with each other, while Ariana provided some comic relief with her CW/Disney Channel-style acting.
Other things I liked about Wicked included the set design and color grading. The sets clearly prioritized working as musical backdrops, which is fair enough, but they still felt lived-in and authentic to the world. Creating a distinctive aesthetic isn’t easy, but the film succeeded here. The color grading was also great—though a bit too bright and bloomy for my taste, I respected the artistic choice. I also enjoyed the camera work and direction, especially in the final act and an early scene where we get a glimpse of the Wicked Witch’s real father. Both moments had excellent vibes.
In the end, I think there’s something really cool here with a lot of potential—unfortunately, it’s held back by being a musical. Musical fans will love it because it’s made for them, but as a film fan, I can’t help but feel frustrated by what could have been. Replace Ariana Grande, write an actual screenplay, and this could have been a great movie. Instead, it’s just a generally forgettable musical—at least for non-musical fans like me.
I like to give movies rating out of 5 but I don’t feel uncomfortable rating this one due to being so far out of its target audience. If you decide to watch it I hope you enjoy it more than I did.
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