Wicked has been widely praised by critics as it lands an incredibly high Rotten Tomatoes score.
However, a clear gender divide has been spotted within the reviews for the blockbuster where it’s been labelled ‘rotten’.
The 2h 40m musical based on the Broadway show has been highly anticipated with an all-star cast led by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande and a star-studded supporting cast including Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, and Michelle Yeoh.
The hype around the film has been immense and finally, the blockbuster is ready for audiences as it is set to premiere on Friday, November 22.
After collating 127 review submissions, the film has now earned a 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The score is incredibly high and has beaten this year’s other blockbusters including The Substance, which received a 90% rating, Gladiator 2, which received 75%, and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice which received 82% upon release which has now dropped to 76%.
Although this is certainly a huge accomplishment for Wicked a gender divide has emerged, with only male critics rating the production ‘rotten’.
The film will be released on Friday (Picture: Universal Pictures)
Ariana Grande stars as Glinda the Good Witch (Picture: AP)
Of the 127 critics, only 11 labelled the film as ‘rotten’ and all 11 of these critics were men.
The 11 film reviewers pointed to various problems, taking aim at the casting of Grande and the ’empty showmanship’ of the ‘shallow’ film among other things.
‘On screen, when directed by a man with no vision other than empty showmanship, it becomes harder to ignore just how shallow a work Wicked is,’ said Juan Barquin at the Miami New Times.
Robbie Collin from the Telegraph also gave the film a ‘rotten’ rating with a 2/5 score. He commented: ‘Considering its signature number is called Defying Gravity, it’s unfortunate that Wicked has all the buoyancy of a grand piano being heaved off the roof of St Paul’s Cathedral.’
The film has received praise from most critics (Picture: AP)
BBC critic Nicholas Barber gave the film 3/5 and commented: ‘It doesn’t take flight. It doesn’t have the terrific jokes, the startling twists or the stunning dance routines that might have cast a spell on you, and it’s weighed down by under-developed subplots… as well as by its own sense of self-importance.’
Avi Offer, a ‘NYC Movie Guru’ said: ‘Visually stunning with lively music numbers and an Oscar-worthy performance by Cynthia Erivo, but it’s overlong and meandering while suffering from excessive style over substance. Ariana Grande is miscast.’
The film is based on the stage production based on a Wizard of Oz spin-off novel (Picture: Universal Pictures via AP)
Jonathan Bailey and Ethan Slater are also stars in this film (Picture: Universal Pictures via AP)
The 115 other critics, made up of both male and female reviewers, all had much more complimentary things to say about the production.
Fay Watson gave the film a 5/5 score for Total Film and commented: ‘Deep love has been given to crafting the detailed and vibrant world of Oz, imbuing these characters with visual spectacle and making familiar songs feel as fresh as the first time you’ve heard them.’
Tori Brazier for Metro also gave the film a 5/5 score and said: ‘Wicked the movie musical flies past my high expectations with the undeniable quality of its scope, vision and imagination – this is exactly how you adapt a stage show for the big screen.’
Richard Lawson commented for Vanity Fair: ‘Wicked succeeds because of some unreproducible, lightning in a bottle convergences — of director, stars, craftspeople, and high-status material.’
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