Movie Reviews

Wicked Movie: A Review

Kaelyn McClements, Writer

January 3, 2025

This November, “Wicked” the movie is gracing theatres across the globe. “Wicked” stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba along with Ariana Grande as Glinda. As a movie that was based on the book and the award winning broadway musical, the producers of “Wicked” had a lot of content to work with and bring live to the big screen. “Wicked” showcases a well known story for many audiences in a completely new light. From theatre nerds to casual movie-goers, this film is for everyone. As someone who has not experienced the Wicked world before, not having read the book nor watched the musical, I still very much enjoyed this movie.

The music was one of the best parts. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo actually sang live on set and all of the actors in this movie are so incredibly talented. The amazing music, combined with the high quality speakers in the movie theatre, made this musical adaptation truly unforgettable. There were some strategic changes in the music from the musical to the movie and I believe they make the movie more engaging. At the end, I was hanging on to every word and the pause was very necessary to really highlight the ending moment and Elphaba’s newfound freedom.

The ending in general was fantastic. It was one of the best movie endings I have seen. The feeling when you leave the movie theater feeling very empowered is a feeling that is unmatched in my opinion and “Wicked” is sure to give you that feeling. Elphaba’s character development throughout the story, leading up to her big moment at the end is perfect.

This movie was actually very sad and thought provoking. It makes you ask yourself, who is really “good” and who is really “evil.” The morality that is explored and the ideas of fighting for what you believe in are very important. I cried multiple times throughout the movie because although the problems that the characters face are vastly different than ones average people in our society would, the feelings of loneliness and yearning to be accepted are something that most can relate to. The other problems of prejudice against a group of people and the effect that has on members of that group as well as their community is also explored in a very touching way. There are also themes of government corruption and blindly believing everything that you are told. All of these themes are very important.

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I do have two critiques, however. First, I understand that in order to fully explore the story and portray it in the necessary way, it needed to be split into two different parts. Despite this, I believe that they could have finished production on both movies before release and then had the ability to release them much closer to each other. Making consumers wait a year is a marketing tactic that I don’t quite agree with. It feels more like a capitalistic scheme than an actual want for artistic integrity within the project. Also, I would not recommend going to see “Wicked” if you have never watched or read the story of The Wizard of Oz. I watched a quick TikTok about a week before going to see the movie which explained the timeline of “Wicked” vs. the timeline for The Wizard of Oz and how they were connected. This helped me get my bearings inside of the complex world of “Wicked.” I was very grateful to go into it knowing the context of the movie because then I could pick on some easter eggs inside the film that I would not have noticed otherwise.

Overall, the combination of the wonderful music production, the very powerful and dramatic ending, and the more mature themes explored in a very sympathetic way made this a great movie. I loved crying in the theater with my friends and then singing the songs in the car on the way home. It was a great experience. All I would recommend is do not go in completely blind, know where “Wicked” part 1 is located on The Wizard of Oz timeline and possibly wait sooner to the next parts release to enjoy the movie, simply due to the fact that it is excruciating to wait. However, wherever, whenever, and whoever you would like to enjoy “Wicked” with, I hope you will enjoy the movie as much as I did.

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About the Contributor

Kaelyn McClements, Writer

Kaelyn McClements, a new writer for The Tower and a junior at John Adams, is thrilled to start her journey with the newspaper. As a very driven and artistic individual, Kaelyn thrives in environments full of happiness and creativity. Kaelyn is not only involved in The Tower; she also participates in varsity cheer and quiz bowl. Along with that, she is planning on starting a new club, called the Sustainability Club, with her friends. The club will be focused on raising money for national environmental charities through schoolwide fundraisers and events. On top of that, because Kaelyn just loves to have zero freetime, she is entering the International Baccalaureate program with intentions to earn the full IB diploma. She knows it will be hard work, but she is determined to succeed and takes pride in her academic achievements. To entertain her creative side, Kaelyn enjoys taking on small projects and doing various crafts, such as crocheting a blanket or sewing designs onto a hoodie. She is also very musical and dabbles in guitar and piano. She used to play the flute, but fell out of practice a long time ago. To pass the time when she is bored, or when she needs a change in her life, Kaelyn will often just add new things to the walls of her room. Other people will dye their hair or deep clean, but Kaelyn loves a cute little wall collage to brighten her spirits and add more of her personality to her room, which is her favorite place. It’s gotten to the point where she’s running out of space! Though she has participated in many different extracurricular activities throughout her life, it has taken Kaelyn a long time to find her “thing.” In high school, Kaelyn has worked hard to expand her horizons and branch out into new fields of interest. She loves thrifting, animals and nature, language, photography, and going on walks. She says, “My ideal walk time is around 8:30 at night because the sun is setting and it's just a little colder out.” Sometimes she is joined by members of her family, but most of the time she’ll walk alone with just her headphones to keep her company. She doesn’t prefer to be alone, though. Kaelyn is a very social person who enjoys spending time with friends, family, and her team. That’s one of the reasons why she is so excited to be a writer for The Tower– she is gaining a new community and group of people to connect with about a shared interest. Kaelyn hopes she survives and thrives during junior year and she thinks that joining The Tower is a step in the right direction.