Micro Review: "Wicked: Part I" (2024)

This is a cleverly crafted screenplay that could have simply dropped the “Part I” in its title and the “to be continued” at the end, if Universal had decided it wasn’t good enough to greenlight a sequel. Without its sequel (which I haven’t seen yet), Wicked: Part I starts with a question - “why do some people turn out wicked?” It does a more-than-adequate job of answering that in the form of a self-contained origin story of a well-known antagonist.

This film embodies all 85 years of filmmaking advancements, changing sensibilities, and evolving the grammar of visual storytelling since The Wizard of Oz (1939). Much like watching Tron before Tron: Legacy, I recommend watching the original before this. It’s worth it.

7/10 ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

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