“Wicked” review: This musical adaptation hits the right notes, but lacks visual variety

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande star as the witches of Oz in the first of a two-part adaptation.

A lot happened in Oz before Dorothy dropped in. Wicked, an enchanting prequel story to The Wizard of Oz that reimagines the story from the perspective of its witches, finally lands on movie screens more than 20 years after Gregory Maguire’s novel was adapted into one of the biggest Broadway hits of the 21st century (to the point that it’s still playing there, and many other stages around the country, as you read this). If The Wizard of Oz is about the magic of childhood and how we look back on it as an adult, then Wicked is about the adolescence in between: Making and losing friends, falling in love, and reckoning with the physical and mental traits that set you apart from those around you.

Directed by Jon M. Chu (In the Heights), the new film adaptation stars Broadway veteran Cynthia Erivo as green-skinned Elphaba (named for the initials of The Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum), who will one day be known as the Wicked Witch of the West, while pop star Ariana Grande plays Galinda, who will eventually be called Glinda the Good. This Wicked only covers the first half of Stephen Schwartz’s Broadway musical but begins at the end, opening with Elphaba’s death at the hands of a certain girl (and her little dog, too) and then flashing back to detail the witch’s upbringing and friendship with Galinda.

Related: Wicked movie stars tease 'Defying Gravity' in new clips: 'There are added elements'

They first met at Shiz University, Oz’s equivalent of Hogwarts, where Galinda was the Regina George-esque popular girl (complete with sycophantic hangers-on, including Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang) while Elphaba was scorned and outcast for her green skin. But Elphaba has something the rest of them lack: Real magical power, enough raw talent to catch the eye of Madame Morrible (played by recent Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, who gets a movie star entrance and amazingly cool mystic robes worthy of the Archmage from Ursula Le Guin’s fantasy novels). Morrible believes that, under her tutelage, Elphaba could even be worthy of working with the wonderful Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum, doing his thing).

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Erivo first made her name on Broadway in The Color Purple musical, where her rendition of “I’m Here” was known for generating literally show-stopping applause breaks. Wicked presents a new challenge because she’s working in the shadow of Idina Menzel’s iconic Broadway performance and pitch-perfect cast recording. Erivo works hard to make Menzel’s iconic belters “The Wizard and I” and “Defying Gravity” her own (and for the many young girls who will be seeing this story for the first time on the big screen, she will) but doesn’t quite surpass Menzel’s high bar. In fact, where Erivo most distinguishes herself is in her close-up acting. Broadway stars have to play to the back row, but Erivo uses minute facial expressions to channel Elphaba’s sarcasm for the camera. She makes clear this character is not a cowering outcast but rather a sensible young woman who has learned how to move through a world where everyone gawks at her appearance.

Grande also excels at the scenes between the songs, which makes sense since this is far from her screen debut; she made a name for herself on Nickelodeon sitcoms years before her singing career took off. Made up in immaculate blonde hair and perfect pink couture worthy of last year’s blockbuster Barbie, Grande’s Galinda struts around Shiz like she owns the place — and is thus very unsettled by Elphaba’s superiority with spells. But though Grande nails Galinda’s aesthetic and attitude, she struggles a bit with the character’s signature song.

“Defying Gravity” is well known for its hard-to-hit high notes, to the point that singing it was once the entire focus of an early Glee episode. But Wicked’s other most famous song, “Popular,” is difficult in a different way. As originally performed by Kristin Chenoweth, this ode to glam makeovers demands both a rat-a-tat rhythm and an ability to infuse every pronunciation with pure personality. Grande doesn’t quite get there, and though Chu’s choreography tries to compensate by having her flounce around in a fluffy robe, “Popular” receives the film’s least memorable rendition.

Related: Wicked director Jon M. Chu previews key scenes: 'Dancing Through Life,' Wizard's lair, and more (exclusive)

“Dancing Through Life,” on the other hand, is the adaptation’s biggest musical accomplishment. Although Wicked is primarily about the relationship between these two women, the charming prince Fiyero always threatens to steal the show, and never more so now that Bridgerton heartthrob Jonathan Bailey is playing him in a dazzling blue/gold suit. Setting this song in a library full of rotating, cylindrical shelves allows the dancers to really show off their moves, while Bailey succeeds at infusing the number with his personality as he flirts with men and women alike. Unless Wicked really hits big with the Academy, it’s unlikely that Bailey will score a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Oscars, but surely he deserves some honor for being the sexiest actor on Earth at the moment — hope you’re taking notes for next year, PEOPLE!

But there’s more to the look of a musical movie than dancing and costumes. Chu and his collaborators built out Oz by mixing realistic sets with lots of CGI enhancements, but unfortunately, the result gets visually repetitive. There are only so many virtual talking animals and colorful Munchkins one can look at before they all blend into the same indistinguishable sheen (the internet should never have stopped mocking J.J. Abrams for his overuse of lens flares because they’re back in a big way in Wicked).

This optic sameness is especially disappointing because the original Wizard of Oz’s contrast between sepia-toned Kansas and Technicolor Oz remains one of cinema's most powerful magic tricks. Wicked’s story wouldn’t allow for the exact same transition since Elphaba is an Oz resident from birth instead of traveling from another world, and there’s nothing like it in the musical. Still, it’s the task of a good adaptation to use a new medium to elevate the material further.

The other hope of a new telling of an old story is that it will strike a chord with the current cultural zeitgeist. In that regard, the political allegory at the heart of Wicked feels well-timed in the wake of Donald Trump’s recent re-election. This is essentially a story of political radicalization, with Elphaba eventually realizing that the powers-that-be want to use her power to further their system of oppression led by a con man. The second half of the musical, which delves even deeper into underground resistance, will hit theaters next year when Trump is in office again and might really resonate with how many viewers are feeling.

That’s just speculation at this point, though. For now, like Denis Villeneuve’s first Dune, this Wicked manages to end on a note of “to be continued” while still feeling like a complete story. If only its imagery had a little more magic! Grade: B