Welcome to another edition of Fitzie’s Film and TV Reviews, where your hoddler-in-chief reviews some of the things he’s recently seen on screens big and small. Today we have a review of a film that fitzie saw in the cinema (finally!). Let’s get straight to it:
Wicked, For Good: The second part to the Wicked film that was released a year ago features many of the flaws that make the second act of the Broadway play inferior to the first. I was always concerned about a two-part Wicked film, especially since the first half was as long as the Broadway show itself.
The two standouts are Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who play Elphaba and Glinda. They pretty much carry every scene they’re in, but the majority of the remaining cast feels lacklustre. Michelle Yeoh was especially wooden as the Wizard’s press secretary.
But my main gripe with this is the pacing. In one scene that is supposed to be powerful, Elphaba declares how she will do no good deed again. Only to, five minutes later, offer sacrificing her image so Grande’s character can help repair Oz.
This film had many opportunities to improve upon the play – especially with a 150-minute runtime. There are two new musical numbers that do little to advance the story, and extra scenes are added that only add to the runtime. The biggest swing John Chu was slightly alter the ending to the movie, which I felt was a strong choice (but did it need foreshadowing?). He had an entire book to work with, but fell short by staying too true to the musical.
Having said that, I will admit the climax of the film that features For Good was genuinely moving, as was the way Chu chose to shoot the witches’ farewells to each other.
3 out of 5 Fitzies
Becoming Led Zeppelin: This feels seriously incomplete as it really only brings us to the first Led Zeppelin albums. It features interviews from the band’s surviving members and has some remarkable concert/studio audio and footage, and it is a genuinely interesting documentary. But, again, it’s not nearly enough to fully tell the story. Maybe the hint was in the title – “Becoming Led Zeppelin”.
3 out of 5 Fitzies
The Cleaner: Greg Davies stars as a crime-scene cleaner in this comedy. It has some seriously funny moments and we see a lot of growth in Wicky, the show’s protagonist. It also features a long list of panel-show participants who do about as good/job acting as you’d expect.
3.5 out of 5 Fitzies
Fitzie’s track of the day:What Is and What Should Never Be, by Led Zeppelin
And now for your links:
BBC: “Newcastle penalty ‘absolute VAR mistake’ – Frank”
The Telegraph: “Romero turns hero in smash-and-grab Spurs draw at Newcastle”
The Standard: “Three things we learned from Tottenham draw as Cristian Romero bails out Thomas Frank”
Alasdair Gold: “Every word Thomas Frank said with Romero joke, penalty anger, Udogie scare and Vicario chants”
