The final instalment of the Wicked franchise, Wicked: For Good, has already received rave reviews from film enthusiasts, despite not being fully released in cinemas yet.
The film is the second part of the movie adaptation of the hit musical and sees Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo reprising their roles. Fans have been eagerly anticipating the conclusion of the story since the first part was released last year.
Now, it seems viewers have already made up their minds about the finale. Despite not having a public release yet, the film has garnered an impressive score on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.
Based solely on audience reviews, Wicked: For Good holds a whopping 97% rating. Over 2,000 different accounts have already given their scores, thanks to securing exclusive early viewing tickets.
According to Forbes, the surge in audience reviews can be attributed, at least in part, to customers who managed to snag preview tickets through Amazon Prime’s ticket sales.
Consequently, thousands of film buffs had the opportunity to watch the film ahead of everyone else during an exclusive screening on Monday (November 17), reports the Mirror.
Many of the reviews heap praise on the storyline that picks up where the first film left off, with Elphaba going to see the Wizard of Oz, portrayed by Jeff Goldblum. Cinema-goers were left in awe of the performances from both women and the overall narrative arc of the story.
“It’s the second half to an already amazing first half,” wrote one eager fan. “For me it was just as good and had some of my favorite songs from the original musical so I was a bit biased on that fact.”
A second added: “Ariana was incredible as Glinda; definitely taps the feels throughout the movie and has some deeply thoughtful provoking moments that truly connect the audience to the story. Those who typically aren’t interested in musicals should consider giving it a watch.”
However, critics have adopted a slightly more measured approach, awarding the picture a 72% rating based on just over 100 reviews at the time of writing.
One reviewer commented: “Though it’s gifted the more interesting story concoctions, it certainly has the less momentous musical numbers.”
At present, Wicked’s rating positions it as comfortably the highest-rated commercial release of the year thus far. Nevertheless, this could shift once the film receives its full public release on Friday (November 21).
The franchise’s first instalment, which debuted last year, also achieved an impressive 88% score, derived from more than 25,000 separate reviews. It proved a tremendous box office success as well, generating a staggering $758million (£577.7million) and earning critical acclaim, securing ten Oscar nominations.
Despite Cynthia and Ariana not winning in their respective categories, and the film failing to clinch Best Picture, it did manage to bag two Academy Awards for both costume and production design. It remains to be seen if this success can be mirrored with the sequel.
Wicked: For Good is released in cinemas on November 21
