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‘WICKED’: RATED PG
Broadway musicals that become movie musicals have a long tradition that invite debate as to which versions are better.
“Chicago” has been a Broadway musical twice, first with a two-year run starting in 1975, and returning to the stage in a 1996 revival still running to this day.
Not surprisingly, “Chicago” inspired a 2002 movie musical of the same name, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelly and Renee Zellweger as Roxie Hart, both of them scheming vixens ending up in jail on murder charges.
Were the movie stars as good as their counterparts in the original 1975 stage musical? Broadway legends Chita Rivera and Gwen Verdon were the initial Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart, respectively. Both of them won Tony Awards.
The point of this exercise of comparison of the stage versus the big screen is that an argument can be made that what started on the stage is invariably better than a cinematic adaptation. This is something to think about with the release of “Wicked” if you have already seen the musical on a stage.
Before you invest time into 160 minutes for “Wicked,” a running-time that tests the outer limits of endurance, keep in mind that it ends with a “to be continued” notice for a second part that is reportedly not expected to arrive until about this time next year.
On Broadway, the “Wicked” musical runs for 2 hours and 45 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission. That informs us that the full story could wrap up a lot sooner than a two-part marathon.
From the outset, a drawback of a stage production is the physical inability to deliver stunning visuals of a witch taking flight or computer-generated imagery of an Emerald City. “Wicked” proves to be exquisite in its cinematography.
Comparing favorably to the original Broadway stars Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenowith, Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West and Ariana Grande’s Glinda, the impending Good Witch of the North, respectively in the same roles, deliver big time on the dancing and singing.
While the denizens of Munchkinland rejoice in the death of the Wicked Witch of the West, Glinda the Good tells the story of the Witch’s troubled childhood and her days at Shiv University where they became reluctant roommates.
The backstory then shifts to Elphaba, born with iridescent green skin and mysterious abilities, as she arrives at the university to see her wheelchair-bound younger sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode), and draws the notice of Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), the Dean of Sorcery Studies.
After inadvertently revealing her magical abilities, Elphaba accepts an invitation to be tutored by Morrible, and this is how she comes to know Galinda, the irrepressible pretty blonde and seemingly self-absorbed lightweight hailing from a life of privilege.
With her verdant complexion, Elphaba is an outcast, while Galinda is the complete opposite, more like one of the popular mean girls most likely to be found in high school surrounded by members of a clique, including here the fawning yet amusing connivers Pfannee (Bowen Yang) and ShenShen (Bronwyn James).
Elphaba’s notoriety gains her an invitation to the Emerald City to meet with the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) and is joined by Galinda, who shortens her name to Glinda as a nod to how it has been mispronounced at college. The trip appears to put some complications into their friendship.
The arrival of Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), a rebellious carefree player committed to only whatever and whomever may tickle his fleeting fancy, catches the eyes of both girls.
Meanwhile, the school’s authoritarian streak leads to discrimination against the anthropomorphic animals and subsequent deprivation of their civil rights and ability to speak.
Affected by this turn of events is Dr. Dillamond (Peter Dinklage), a talking goat who teaches history until he’s forced to retire and replaced by a devious professor who lacks any respect for animals.
Taking umbrage at the mistreatment of animals and feeling a growing sense that Morrible and the Wizard are problematic, Elphaba is on her wicked witch trajectory, which is likely to be further explored in the second part, perhaps much like the Broadway show’s Act Two.
Undeniably, Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba is at once fierce and vulnerable, and if her rendition of “Defying Gravity” does not result in an emotionally satisfying experience, then “Wicked” will not leave an indelibly curious impression.
While “Wicked” impresses as a solidly designed production with memorable performances, my preference for a musical creation remains immutably fixed on the stage where one’s imagination also plays a role.
However, the more thought that goes into the provenance of this film version leads me to reconsider, at least in the limited scope of this one adaptation, that the magic of a stage production can be captured and expanded upon to achieve a richly rewarding cinematic experience.
“Wicked” is an immersive journey through the fantasy world of the witches of Oz as both Elphaba and Glinda will eventually fulfill their destinies, and a year from now we could learn so much more.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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‘GLADIATORS II’ Rated R
English filmmaker Ridley Scott, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II two decades ago, also goes by the honorific “Sir Ridley Scott” conferred upon him in recognition of his contribution to the arts, joining other entertainment icons like Sean Connery, Elton John and Mick Jagger.
Aside from a slew of other honors, Ridley Scott has distinguished himself for an eclectic style in film genres from science-fiction like “Blade Runner” and “Alien” to historical dramas such as last year’s “Napoleon.”
His resume encompasses a lot more than that, including directing the road trip crime drama “Thelma & Louise,” for which he was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Director, an honor also bestowed for his directing of “Black Hawk Down.”
Arguably, no bigger success came for the director than his work in the 2000 swords-and-sandals epic “Gladiator,” which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and his second award nomination for directing.
Now more than two decades later, Scott returns to directing “Gladiator II,” a sequel to the story of Russell Crowe’s Maximus, a Roman general who runs afoul of Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) and ends up enslaved to be a captive combatant.
Reviewing the quasi-historical story of Maximus’ quest for revenge against Commodus for the murder of his family and Marcus Aurelius (a historical figure of the time) would take up too much space here.
While the original film was set in 180 AD, “Gladiator II” appears to be only a couple of decades in the future where a prime character in the form of Lucius (Paul Mescal) turns out to be a heroic warrior against the Roman Empire in the name of strength and honor.
Amazing battle scenes on land and sea find the Romans led by General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) storming the fortress in Numidia where Lucius’s beloved wife Arishat (Yuval Gonen), a warrior in her own right, is killed by Acacius during a bloody siege.
On the losing end of battle, Lucius becomes a slave under the custody of Denzel Washington’s Macrinus, a former slave himself who became a Roman businessman who has amassed enormous wealth thanks to his acumen and brutal ambition.
Macrinus has a stable of gladiators, and he sees in Lucius a natural-born leader and great fighter, which he finds useful in many ways to make himself more powerful than he already is. He relies on his vicious trainer Vigo (Lior Raz) to run his stable with an iron hand.
The Roman Empire is under the control of truly mad twin emperors Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn), both self-indulgent and unserious, with the former obsessed with a pet monkey perched on his shoulder.
Returning from battle a bit weary, Acacius is reunited with his partner Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, reprising her role from the original), and he’s less than thrilled with the tyrannical rule of the twin emperors who are bent on further conquest of distant lands.
The people of Rome expect the gladiator combat at the Colosseum to deliver thrills that keep them distracted from everyday troubles. They are ready to cheer for bloody carnage in any form.
The hero turns out to be Lucius whose maiden foray at the Colosseum, alongside other warriors, is fending off an attack by a pack of ferocious baboons, much to the delight of bloodthirsty spectators.
What Lucius thinks about, as he channels his rage and which pleases the crowd at the Colosseum, is how he’s going to eventually get to his mortal foe Acacius. Part of the problem may be complicated by the presence of Lucilla for reasons that may be surprising.
Like many sequels of blockbuster success stories, “Gladiator II” has the unenviable task of trying to top the original film which went on to become an iconic cultural touchstone for fans around the world.
The world of the Roman Empire and the unforgettable characters of “Gladiator” were so brilliantly crafted. Attempting to go for a grander scale was necessary, and certain aspects of the powerful battle scenes and the gripping action in the arena of the Colosseum deliver.
What appears lacking is the emotional core of the original film that involves the tragedy of a warrior bent on revenge that mirrors a basic theme repeated in the sequel.
Paul Mescal’s Lucius, though solidly physical in the role of reluctant gladiator, was given a challenging task of bringing the same gravitas and charisma to a warrior that Russell Crowe’s Maximus conveyed with visceral single-minded pursuit.
Arguably, Denzel Washington steals the show as a cunning manipulator who has achieved his station in the gilded milieu of the Roman power center, interacting with Roman senators and the emperor twins.
In the end, “Gladiator II,” playing loose with history, comes close enough to achieving its grandiose ambition of a grand spectacle of choreographed battles and gladiatorial combat such that not capturing the original film’s emotional intimacy can be overlooked.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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