Wicked reviews are finally in and range from ‘horribly miscast’ to ‘defying gravity’

The embargo has been lifted, the premiere has been and gone, and the early reviews are starting to pour in for the most anticipated movie of the year, Wicked.

As one of the most successful stage musicals of all time, the world went nuts in 2016 when the Wicked movie was first announced. A staggering eight years later, and after a number of setbacks like a ditched director and the pandemic, the movie is finally set for a November 22 release.

The embargo on reviews was officially lifted on Tuesday, with Rotten Tomatoes soon revealing that its debut score was an impressive 91 per cent. Reviews followed soon after, but unfortunately, the mixed bag doesn’t point to either its upcoming success or failure.

Good reviews say Wicked is ‘defying gravity’

In IGN’s review, writer Alyssa Mora says that Wicked exceeded expectations due to a combination of genius director Jon M. Chu’s ingenuity and the “masterful and passionate performances” of leading stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.

Alyssa also quelled concerns shared by people on Twitter, noting: “I can assure you: The halls and dorms occupied by Elphaba, Glinda, and their classmates at Shiz University aren’t flat, lifeless CGI creations.”

The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw rated the film an impressive four stars whilst noting that one of the stars shone above the rest of the cast.

“But the sledgehammer punch is delivered by Erivo as the wounded, angry, alienated Elphaba. In Sunset Boulevard, Norma Desmond famously said that the movies once only needed faces – and Erivo’s face is the ground zero of this film’s blast of entertainment power,” he wrote. “She is the film’s Rushmore: charismatic, haughty and vulnerable.”

‘WICKED’ debuts with 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, one of the highest scores for a musical adaption ever.

Read our review: https://t.co/ctx4gYQ1OT pic.twitter.com/kDJgM5MzeJ

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) November 19, 2024

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Digital Spy offered a more nuanced approach as writer Ian Sandwell admitted to being a Wicked sceptic in the headline. Though he did take issue with some of the more “generic songs”, he loved the main cast’s performances and is eagerly awaiting part two.

The good, the bad, and the not so Wicked

Of course, reviews wouldn’t be reviews without some honest negativity. Wicked is no different, and has already been called a “trainwreck” on Twitter by people who are yet to watch it.

In the Telegraph’s review, chief film critic Robbie Collin opened with a particularly scathing introduction, writing: “Considering its signature number is called Defying Gravity, it’s unfortunate that Wicked has all the buoyancy of a grand piano being heaved off the roof of St Paul’s Cathedral. But mind your heads, folks, because here it comes, whistling down towards the pavement, and landing in the pre-Christmas cinema schedules with a tooth-splintering crash.”

me liking every positive review about “wicked” pic.twitter.com/fCRHG1Vdwu

— allegra☀️ (@theegrandeheels) November 18, 2024

Robbie countered every kind word about the film’s leads with remarks claiming Cynthia’s performance was served with “wet-eyed severity” and Ariana’s lacked the “manic stage-school brittleness” that the role demands.

Another negative take from The Boston Globe’s Odie Henderson saw the film being dubbed a “visually unappealing” adaptation that struggled to balance comedy and darker tones.

In his take, Juan Antonio Barquin from the Miami Times branded the adaptation fan-fiction as he further claimed that “many decisions in Wicked seem to be made all for the sake of padding the runtime for the two-part split.”

He added: “All this is why Wicked — alongside Joker: Folie à Deux and Emilia Pérez — serves as something of a signifier that the genre is dead if it cannot evolve or even serve as a complement to the works being adapted.”

A running theme in 2024 movie critiques has been the lighting or lack thereof. Wicked is receiving similar pushback, with The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey saying it’s shot like they’re selling us an “Airbnb in Mykonos.”

It looks like Wicked is going to be one of those instances where you have to make up your own mind instead of joining the collective opinion.

Featured Image credit: YouTube/Universal Pictures

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