Is it enough for Wicked to be a better version of those live-action Disney remakes, one with more tactile sets, defter direction, and better leading performances? Maybe.

| Original Score: B- | Dec 12, 2024

Indulgent and unwieldy as it is, Wicked is a thrill, at times wildly funny, heart-soaring, and ultimately inspirational in spite of itself.

| Dec 10, 2024

Hard to think of many screen adaptations of Broadway musicals that were this magical. Wickedly magical.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 10, 2024

I liked it with some caveats, mostly having to do with the length -- and the visuals sometimes felt really busy.

| Dec 5, 2024

Drags, and drags, and drags. I was just staring at the costumes and saying "Can this end?"

| Dec 5, 2024

A colorful, entertaining movie musical which feels exhaustingly dragged out for reasons tied explicitly to profit and greed, "Wicked"... deserves a first ballot induction into the "Does This Need to Be This Long?" Hall of Fame.

| Original Score: B- | Dec 3, 2024

The resulting adaptation satisfyingly combines the grandiosity of a musical and the intimacy of filmmaking.

| Nov 27, 2024

A dream come true film adaptation for a longtime musical fan.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Nov 26, 2024

Driven by knockout performances from Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, Jon M Chu’s impossibly slick charm assault of an adaptation zips along so enjoyably that you almost wish it were longer (your bladder may disagree).

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 25, 2024

Directed and performed with flair and obvious affection for the source material, Wicked is a wickedly good time at the movies.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 25, 2024

The songs are bangers and they are performed with note-perfect gusto by people who can really sing.

| Nov 24, 2024

It’s not easy being green screen, but, even so, there is little in this movie’s muted palette and washed-out backlighting to make you muse, even for a second, “What a world, what a world.”

| Nov 23, 2024

Built to last, Wicked enchants.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Nov 22, 2024

How do I love the film of the hit stage musical, let me count the ways, starting with the way Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande set the screen ablaze as frenemy witches and sets, costumes and songs to die for. Seeing this joyous eruption once is not enough.

| Nov 22, 2024

This is a sumptuous and unsubtle treat grounded in Erivo’s graceful and subtle performance. When she defies gravity, she lifts us with her, and we lean forward to the next chapter.

| Original Score: B+ | Nov 22, 2024

"Wicked" is the most entertaining film of the year and the most dazzling live-action Hollywood musical since “Chicago.” To put it in the kind of lingo used in Oz, I pronuncify it magnifical.

| Nov 22, 2024

Though the run time may seem excessive (two hours and 40 minutes?!), it is a testament to Chu and his team’s care that each musical number is carefully built up and celebrated with elaborate set pieces.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 22, 2024

Bailey’s swagger channels Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing: here’s hoping he has more scenes in Part 2.

| Nov 21, 2024

Wicked isn’t really the vehicle to ponder deeper existential questions about the true nature of evil... It does, however, hit more than a few sweet spots for fellow misfits who see themselves in either Glinda or Elphaba

| Nov 21, 2024

Chu takes a stab at making a blockbuster for our times, one that doesn’t shy away from contending with the darkness of contemporary politics and society. Though Chu doesn’t always hit the mark, Wicked consistently dazzles.

| Nov 21, 2024