“Barbenheimer” will go down as one of the top pop culture moments of the decade. What started out as the accidental programming of Warner Bros. Pictures’ Chin and Universal Pictures Oppenheimer for July 21, 2023, quickly turned into a global phenomenon thanks in large part to the “Twitter Movie.” Thanks to the “Barbenheimer” branding, audiences felt compelled to see not one, but both films, bolstering its box office comeback and setting the stage for a collective 21 Oscar nominations.

Since “Barbenheimer,” movie buffs have been eagerly awaiting a follow-up double feature with the same cachet. (I’m sorry, “Saw Patrol” and “The Ballad of Songbirds and Trolls.”) When River moved its release date five days earlier to share November 22, 2024 Gladiator IIeager fans christened the twofer “Glicked.” Presumably this decision by Universal was made to avoid River competing with Moana 2but many wondered if the “boy movie”/”girl movie” combination wasn’t a ploy to combine the box office numbers in the same way that “Barbenheimer” did.

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With premieres and early screenings for both underway, it seems likely River it will win at the box office and after seeing both the movies I can whole heartedly say that River it is also the best movie. Riveror Wicked: Part I as the film’s title book calls it, is the theatrical retelling of Act I of the 2003 Broadway show (which is based on Gregory Maguirethe 1995 novel, which is itself an unofficial prequel to the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baumthe novel of 1900). Leading up to Part Iupon its release, the choice to split a 2.5-hour musical into two films, the first being 2.5 hours itself, seemed like a dubious choice. Why are we truncating the story? Why add an extra hour to Act I? How could this be without the addition of a credit song (a glaring mistake in my opinion)? From the “Glicked” date to the two parts, the whole setup felt like a rip off.

Taking cash or not, River is an amazing piece of film that will go down in history with people like Chicago, West Side Story and the original The Wizard of Oz as one of the best musical films ever made. It defies expectations (and gravity, well, sorry about that) with exceptional pacing, jaw-dropping musical numbers, and some of the best costume and production design work in recent memory. Jon M. Chuhis direction of the film seems spot-on, something that won’t surprise fans of its 2021 adaptation In the heightsand it magically adds an hour to the duration of Act I without slowing down the film’s propulsion one bit.

For those of you who weren’t theater kids in the 2000s, Act I of Riverand therefore Wicked: Part Ifollows the green-skinned Wicked Witch of the West, her name, Elphaba Thropp, finally revealed. Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) struggles to fit in with other Ozians and stands out when she is sent to Shiz University for both her green skin and her developing magical powers. Also frequented by Shiz and her wheelchair-bound sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode), doofy Munchkin Boq ( spongebob of music Ethan Slater) and, of course, the self-absorbed young version of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, Galinda (accent on the “ga”), played by Ariana Grande.

Galinda and Elphaba are paired as roommates, which leads to a lot of friction (and rancor), as Galinda is jealous of Elphaba’s powers and her private tutelage under Shiz, Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh). A love triangle with Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) and a pre-World War II plot involving the discrimination of talking animals like their teacher Doctor Dillamond (voiced by Peter Dinklage) complicates things further. Enemies become “best friends” only to have that relationship tested when, in the final moments of the film, the pair realize that The Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) and Morrible are behind the ghettoization of talking animals. This leads to Elphaba singing “Defying Gravity” and the start of her Act II fight with the Wizard, while Galinda (or just “Glinda” as she is known by then due to performative activism) is more conflicted and remains ago. Part Ilike the musical’s Act I, it ends with the goosebump-inducing belter of “Defying Gravity”, establishing a hiatus of a year before Part II tackle Act II next November.

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There is barely a drop of choice in everything Part I. The cast of Erivo and Grande, which seemed a little controversial at first, turned out to be divine. Erivo’s embarrassment (which was previously shown in exterior) contrasts perfectly with Grande’s stark but charming charisma. Both actors can sing, but their facial expressions and mannerisms reinforce why they were cast. Their friendship-solidifying scene at the Ozdust Ballroom is a prime example of their non-singing talent, and Grande’s more spectacular performance almost guarantees her an Oscar nomination (“throw”). Bailey’s unbridled flirtation is unleashed to sublime effect as Fiyero, and Yeoh’s latent menace is deftly calibrated.

Chu also deserves a lot of praise for his direction, especially the musical numbers. From something more introspective like “The Wizard and I” to the heavy choreography of “One Short Day,” he creates distinct, magical moments with each song. Using split screen in “What’s this feeling?”, She is All That dancing to Ozdust and even the choreography involved in Elphaba’s mother drinking the potion at the beginning of the film are all a testament to his skill. When the production’s immaculate design syncs up with its direction and choreography, as it does in the show-stopping spinning rack number “Dancing Through Life,” audiences are on edge. A few well-placed cameos and new post-election relevance to the talking animal subplot are the icing on the cake.

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while River deftly surpasses the occasionally clunky Gladiator IIhe may have set a trap for himself in the process. Part I is so exceptional that it leaves impossibly large ruby ​​slippers for Part II to fill Act II of the musical is shorter. It’s more depressing. It has fewer songs, and other than “No Good Deed” and “For Good” are almost completely devoid of bangers. while Stephen Schwartz wrote two new pieces for Part IIthe sequel will require the addition of a lot of new material (perhaps drawn from Maguire’s novel or from the original The Wizard of Oz) to complete the runtime. It seems almost certain that Part II will disappoint after the high highs of Part I.

But maybe that means putting the bull before the cart a bit and if Part I proved something, is that Chu et al. are prepared to exceed expectations. Following a long line of legendary adaptations, The River the film is sure to remain popular long after it has left the theaters. If on the way home you ask yourself “what is this feeling?” The answer is: history is being made.

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Related: Fans theorize ‘Wicked Part Two’ could be fake