Kim Hayes – Google

This is not a bad version of the stage show. It follows the original book of the show pretty faithfully, albeit with some padding. Anyone who has seen Wicked on stage will remember Defying Gravity as an exhilarating moment. It's presentation in the film, for me, dilutes the power of the song. The songs, particularly Defying Gravity, were written with the traditional Broadway Belter in mind. As good a singer as she is, that is not Cynthia Erivo's style. The songs have been rearranged slightly to better fit her but that does, for me, weaken their effect in some important moments. Cynthia Erivo is fine as Elphaba but I was genuinely shocked by just how good Ariana Grande was as Glinda. I really hadn't expected that. No doubt far more people will love the movie than have reservations. Having seen some spectacular casts on stage, I fall into the latter category.

It's hard to have an unbiased view because of the original movie but this was a poor follow-up that wasn't actually needed. Paul Mescal is a very fine actor but does not possess the charisma of Russell Crowe but that is not the problem with this film. Similarly, Denzel Washington, also a fine actor, only needed a mustache to twirl as the baddie, such was the lack of subtley but, again, that is not the issue. There is a lot of nonsense in the arena fights that wasn't there in the original (mutant monkeys and sharks!!). The real problem is that the script is weak and frequently leaves you wondering how we got to certain plot points as it wasn't shown or explained in the movie. This is a sequel made to make money. It doesn't build on the original nor does it try to stand on its own merits. Ridley Scott has indicated there will be a Gladiator III and the ending allows for that but I hope he thinks better of it.

This was a bit meh for me: it neither exceeded nor disappointed my expectations. Sebastian Stan's Donald Trump is the man of public perception so, in that respect, Stan does his job. The absolute stand out, however, is Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn. Apart from being opportunistic, releasing it at the time of the presidential election does seem to me (a Brit) to be inappropriate in principle. If the inclusion of certain scenes is intended to somehow blacken Trump's character in the eyes of voters (they add little of real substance if not) that is a fools errand. As I said, people believe they know what Trump is and what he stands for. This movie will neither pursuade nor dissuade voters, who already know what they think of him.

This is perplexing. What are George Clooney and, particularly, Brad Pitt doing in what, back in the day, would have been a TV or straight to DVD movie with two reasonably recognisable TV actors? Not a dreadful movie, with a few laugh out loud moments and a reasonably surprising ending, albeit a very famous one borrowed from another film. The script leaves you with questions but only in the moment because this is a film that is quickly forgotten.

This should be a more powerful film than it is. It has a strong cast, giving excellent performances (Demi Moore has never been better) and a very clever and thought provoking plot but, in the end, it choses just to be a gory, body horror - although light on the horror. The ending is entirely predictable and disappointing for it. I can't help but feel there was a more hard hitting and genuinely disturbing ending that was sacrificed in favour of the yuck factor. If all you want is a body horror you will be more than satisfied but it could have been so much more.