I LOVED IT
My biggest takeaways -
The restructuring of some songs to fit the cinematic take took a bit of getting used to but was easily balanced by the fact that it allowed things the stage version could not... camera close ups, cinematic pauses, that added an extra oomph to certain moments. The obvious being Defying Gravity. I think a second viewing now knowing this would make me enjoy it even more.
Ariana was simply brilliant and was having the time of her life in the role of her life, but Cynthia was the revelation for me. I was surprised by how understated the performance was, and it improved the dynamic with Glinda, made her more sympathetic and layered, and just an all round more interesting performance that made an all round more interesting character.
The overall effect reminded me so much of the classic fantasy movies we grew up with - it was so unashamedly magical. It felt like something that would translate well and last longer than a passing fad. Not all musical adaptations achieve that but it feels like this will.
That ballroom scene... wow. Goosebumps. I think this was the magic trick of the whole film - they could easily have wrapped it up in 2 hours by keeping the pace of the musical going but they spread the story out and it wasn't just the additional book subtext, it was the pacing of some of the more important scenes, like the ballroom. They slowed it right down and let it breathe and it was incredibly powerful. That could have gone the wrong way but it absolutely elevated the film for me.
It's probably a 9/10 because I'm usually a
measured cynical bastard, but in the grand sceme of the magic of the franchise and FINALLY seeing it on the screen, I'm giving it a TEN.